The Blood that Binds Them
by Tangled up in Blu
Summary: Part one & two in "The Blood that Binds Them" Trilogy. We all know what Dean would do to save Sam's life. But what would Sam do if Dean and Jack's lives were threatened? Would he sell his soul? Would he do something even worse?
1. Chapter 1

Beep

The Blood That Binds Them

Part I

Beep . . . . . . . . . . . Beep . . . . . . . . . . . .Beep . . . . . . . .

"Dude, whatever that is, find it and shoot it," Dean grumbled from the bed he had just thrown himself into.

"You find it . ." Sam mumbled back, rolling over on his side already half asleep. They had been driving for twelve hours straight, almost as if the hellhounds they had saved Evan Hudson from were chasing them from Mississippi.

"It's coming from your bag . ." Dean said irritably, pulling the pillow back over his head.

Sam sat up angrily. Rummaging through his bag, muttering under his breath, Sam drew out his cell phone, only to see that the battery was dead. "Damn," he swore, going through the bag again looking for his charger. It was in the Impala. "This can wait," he thought as he turned back to the bed.

Beep . . .. .. . . . Beep . . . … Beep . . . .

"Sam, you're killin' me, dude,"

"_Right_," Sam thought, "_cell phone_." He plunged his hands into the bag again. "_There it is_," he thought, digging under the two pairs of jeans, the AC cord for the laptop and a butterfly knife.

Drawing the phone out, Sam suddenly realized that it was his dad's. He swallowed thickly. It had been five months since his dad's death. He and Dean had discussed getting the phone disconnected but hadn't since so many of John's contacts hadn't known he had died. However, as time went by, the phone had gotten fewer and fewer calls as the word of John Winchester's demise made it through the hunter community. The last time the phone had rung was six weeks ago and it had been a wrong number. Still Sam had kept it charged - just in case. Never hurt to have a spare.

Now the message envelop blinked up at Sam in the semi-gloom of the room. He considered turning it off until the morning but he was trained better than that so he reluctantly punched in his dad's access code.

"John? This is Kate McKenzie. I . . .I know it's been a while – well I guess close to twenty years. . . . but I really need your help. It's an emergency . . . a matter of life and death . .." the woman's voice quivered. "literally" she added in a whisper. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Listen, I really need you to come to Kentucky. I'm in Louisville. You won't be able to reach me by phone. Come to St. Mary's Hospital in downtown. You can page me when you get there. I know this sounds cryptic and I know this may be awkward or whatever but I really don't want to get into it on a phone – especially a cell phone so please. . . just come. You are the only one who can help me." The call quietly clicked off.

Sam sat for a minute contemplating the call. "_I guess we're going to Kentucky_," he thought tiredly as he shut the phone off and crawled back in bed.

They made good time to Kentucky, pulling in to the small city about 7 p.m. the next day. Dean had a theory that their dad had worked a job for this Suzanne McKenzie and she was having trouble again. He just hoped she didn't work in the crazy wing of the hospital. After the asylum in Rockford, Illinois, Dean didn't care if he ever did another job in a hospital where the patients were crazy and the doctors were crazier.

After circling the hospital twice to find parking, Dean finally agreed to park the Impala in a garage – something he avoided doing since he always found dings in the paint afterward. Parking on the top floor and taking up two spaces, he and Sam made their way down.

Sam went to the visitor desk while Dean had a look around. Catching a candy-stripper's eye, he whipped out the patented Winchester grin, causing her to blush prettily as she turned away. Sam rolled his eyes and nudged him towards a row of seats while an announcement went out on the intercom.

"Kate McKenzie, you have a guest at the visitor's desk. Kate McKenzie, please report to the visitor's desk."

Five minutes passed before a petite woman in her late thirties came through the staff doors to the left, stopping to look around. "This must be her," Dean thought, as he took in the perfectly tailored pants suit, diamond stud earrings and short bob haircut. The woman exuded money . . . and class. Had it not been for the apprehensive look on her face and the dark circles under her eyes, she would have been at home at a country club dinner . . . on the club president's arm.

"Ms. McKenzie," Sam said, while standing. The woman turned, looking up. "I'm Sam Winchester and this is my brother, Dean. I think you called our father?" Sam said in his boy next door way.

"I . . ." the woman started and then stopped. She looked at Sam and then Dean like a deer caught in the headlights. "You're John Winchester's sons?" she asked as if she had to force the words from her mouth.

"Yeah. I understand that you need some help and . . ."

The woman's face fell into a completely neutral, professional expression as she cut Sam off. "I need to talk to your father. I appreciate you coming but you can't help me. I . . . need John's help . . . so, if you would just tell him to contact me as soon as possible, I would really appreciate it. Thank you." Turning abruptly, she headed back towards the door she had entered from.

Dean, not impressed with the brush off he had just received, was willing to let her go. Sam, however, was not.

"Ms. McKenzie, wait." He said gently touching her arm. "Is there someplace we could talk . .. a little more private . . ."

"Uh . ." she looked like a rabbit caught in the sites of a hawk. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she finally looked Sam in the eye. "Of course. I only have a minute but I think there's a . . ." Her voice trailed off

Turning again, Sam motioned to Dean to follow as he made his way through the doors behind her. She ushered them into a small but tastefully decorated chapel. Luckily it was empty.

Standing in front of the pews, Kate McKenzie began to pace as she motioned the boys to the seats in the front. "I'm sorry if I was abrupt," she started before Sam could. "I was just expecting to see John. I do appreciate you coming and I hate that you came all this way for nothing but this is something that only your father can handle. If you could give me a number, where I can reach him or . . ."

"Ms. McKenzie," Sam insistently interrupted, "I've been trying to tell you . . . well, there's no easy way . . . my father died five months ago."

The color completely drained from Kate's face as her knees began to buckle. She blindly reached out to keep herself from falling. Had Sam not moved quickly to grasp her arm, she would have failed. Sitting down hard on the step leading up to the lectern, Kate's eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth once – twice – and then shut it has she stared out into space.

Dean, who had been letting Sam take the lead until now, pushed up from the pew with more force than necessary. He knew the questions were coming and he had no interest in sharing painful memories with a stranger. Still unable to talk about his father's death in more than short sentences, he looked pointedly at Sam and began to examine the stained glass window as if it held some secret he had yet to discover.

Sam minutely nodded as he turned back to Suzanne. "Can I get you anything? Water?"

"No, I'm fine," she said automatically continuing to stare at nothing. "He's dead?" she said unbelieving. Sam wasn't sure she was talking to him or just digesting the information so he didn't answer. "He can't be dead – He was so sure of himself, so . . ." Kate said out loud to herself.

"Maybe if you tell me what's going on, Dean and I can help," Sam said gently, as he returned to his seat and placed his elbows on his knees so their eyes were level.

"I don't think you'll want to help," she answered quietly, darting a glance at Sam guiltily and then down at the floor.

"You never know until you ask," Sam persevered.

Kate sat completely still for more than 20 seconds. It was clear from her face that she was having an internal argument and Sam allowed her the time she needed. Coming to a decision, Kate's face settled into a resolute expression. "Will you come with me? I'd like to show you something."

Gesturing that she should lead the way, Sam shot a look over her head at Dean. Now that the subject of their father was past, Dean's curiosity and instinct to help took over as he motioned Sam with his eyes to follow her.

Moving down the hall, the trio silently made their way up three floors to the Intensive Care Unit. Kate stopped at the door and gestured the boys in. As they entered, the ICU nurse moved to intercept them until she saw Kate. Nodding, she returned to the station as Kate ushered Sam and Dean to the bed at the end of the room.

"This is my son, Jack," she said quietly, brushing the dark hair back from his forehead. Strongly built, approximately 19 or 20 years in age, the boy still looked fragile hooked up to all the machines crammed into the small space. He had dark rings under his eyes that made them look even more sunken when contrasted with the sickly yellow of his skin.

"What's wrong with him?" Dean quietly asked moving closer to get a better look.

"He has Cooper Disease. It's very rare. Unfortunately, we didn't catch it until it was too late. He'd always been so healthy. They found him collapsed in his dorm room a week ago." As she continued to stare at her son, the fear in Kate's voice was almost a living, breathing thing. "The doctors can't do anything for him until we can find a liver donor so they put him in a medically induced coma."

Sam swallowed slowly and said, "I'm really very sorry but I don't understand why you thought dad could . . ."

"We have to find a donor soon or he'll die." Kate continued as if Sam hadn't spoken. "We've tested everyone in my family but either they didn't match or they were too old. That only leaves Jack's father and his family. . . " Kate's voice trailed off as she looked up into Sam's eyes in desperation.

Sam's eyes narrowed as he looked at Kate and then down at the young man on the bed. Dean, on the other hand, had frozen, color rushing to his face.

Indignant rage began to rise in Dean as he turned on Kate, "You better not be implying what I think . ."

Kate stood her ground but continued to look at Sam. Taking the chart from the end of the bed, she handed it to Sam. "I named him after his father . . ."

Sam's stomach tightened into a knot as he looked at the name written on the top of the chart. John Winchester McKenzie.


	2. Chapter 2

"Bullshit!" Dean exclaimed bringing the ICU nurse to her feet again. "Bullshit!" he repeated. Spinning on his heels, Dean stalked from the room.

Kate's gaze was fastened on Sam's face, waiting for his response. Setting his mouth in a grim line, he stared at Kate hard, looked briefly again down at the boy and turned to follow his brother.

Jogging to catch up with Dean, he called, "Dude, wait."

"Can you believe this?" Dean said indignantly. "We came all this way for some psycho chick with delusions about dad?" Dean punched the elevator button so hard, Sam was afraid it would break.

"Dean . . ." Sam began tentatively.

"No Sam! No."

"Come on man. Do you really think that dad was celibate for twenty-five years?" Sam asked in the hopes that Dean would slow down and think. Sam knew that Dean was still having trouble dealing with their dad's death – especially after the confirmation that he had died and sold his soul to bring Dean back. The guilt Dean was carrying made any perceived slight against their father reopen that wound.

Dean's jaw clenched and his fists opened and closed as he tried desperately to keep from exploding. "No! Of course not. But that doesn't mean . . ."

"Dean – that kid in there looks more like dad than I do," Sam continued quietly.

"I don't care if he looks like Elvis. Dad would have never abandoned his son. Never!"

Sam stayed carefully quietly, his mind involuntarily bringing forth all the unanswered phone calls to his father over the last year and a half – when they had thought they had the demon in Lawrence, when Dean had almost died of heart failure. He was pretty sure Dean was thinking of it too as they stood waiting for the elevator.

"Look, why would she lie?" Sam asked, trying another tact.

"I don't know. Maybe she heard about dad and thinks he has inheritance money or something.

"Dude," Sam said disbelievingly. "Did you see the way she was dressed? I doubt very seriously she has to worry about money."

"I don't know, Sam. I don't know. Maybe, maybe she's really a demon trying to screw around with our heads. It has happened before." Dean stabbed at the elevator button again, cursing the slow moving lift for preventing his escape. Looking around, Dean started towards the exit to the stairs, Sam trailing behind them.

"Your father didn't know about Jack," Kate said quietly from behind the brothers.

In their agitated state, they didn't hear Kate come up behind them. Startled, Dean spun around, yelping "Christo!"

Kate's eyes widened in surprise. Taking a step back, she looked at Dean and then Sam. Then she slowly began laughing.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she said placing her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her chuckle. "You think I'm possessed?" she asked. Taking a deep breath, she smiled. "Thank you. That was the best laugh I have had since I've been here and I needed it."

"Yeah, I'm a regular Robin Williams," Dean muttered darkly.

"Look, I'm sorry to spring this on you like this. Obviously, I wanted to tell John and let him handle what, if anything, he told you." Slowly she sobered. "However, that is no longer an option . . . and Jack is running out of time."

"So after twenty years, you just thought you would call him up and say what exactly? 'Hey John, remember me? I was a one night stand you had two decades ago and I thought we could get together for a family dinner.'"

"Dean," Sam hissed in an embarrassed voice. Dean knew he was being a dick but he didn't care. He had lost everyone in his life that had ever mattered to him but Sam and now Sam was his responsibility. His priority. Nothing mattered but saving Sam. He had promised his dad and couldn't afford to get distracted by this kid – no matter how sad the situation.

It was Kate's turn to reign in her temper before saying something she knew she would regret. Through clenched teeth, she slowly replied, "I couldn't tell him. He was carrying enough guilt over the way he was raising the two of you. How do you think he would have felt knowing he had another son to protect? And it wasn't a one night stand! It was . . . complicated."

"Look lady," Dean said with steel in his voice. "I'm sorry your son is sick but you've got the wrong guys. Let's go Sam." Dean turned, slamming through the exit door.

Kate was directly behind him. "Prove it!" she challenged.

"What?" Dean turned incredulously.

"Prove it," Kate said again. "Take the donor compatibility test. Talk to the doctor. Only a very close relative approximately the same age will be a match. If one of y'all match, then you at least consider the transplant."

"And when we don't?" Dean asked.

"Then y'all leave and forget that you ever met me or him. You'll never hear from us again," Kate said more quietly.

Dean stopped for a minute and huffed. Looking down, he said, "Let's go Sam," and headed down the stairs.

Kate exhaled a breath and sagged against the door as if all the fight had left her body at once. Sam hesitated, feeling torn between the loyalty he had for his brother and the very real pain the woman was feeling.

Looking into Sam's eyes, Kate pleaded, "Please . . .just think about it."

Silently Sam turned and followed Dean down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Author Note: I probably should have said this at the beginning but for the record: I am not a doctor so if the medical stuff is not quite right, please excuse. I am not a paid Supernatural writer (obviously). Sam and Dean and their allies do not belong to me. Thanx! Oh and also, please reveiw - all suggestions welcomed!

Finally, Chapter three is pretty short so I decided to post three and four at the same time . . .enjoy.

Chapter Three

"Dean," Sam said hurrying to catch up with his brother as he moved through the parking garage. "Dean, slow down!"

"What?" Dean said not turning around.

"We've got to talk about this."

"Nothing to talk about. Woman was crazy – or lying – or both."

"And what if she wasn't, Dean? What if that kid in there is our brother? What if we can save him?"

"Oh please Sam! Don't tell me that you are falling for this sob story."

"How can you be so sure she's lying? I mean she's right. A simple blood test will tell us the truth."

"I can't believe we are even discussing this," Dean mumbled.

"I can't believe you are so willing to dismiss this," Sam countered.

Dean whirled around to his brother. "So you believe this, this line of bullshit. You think Dad had an illegitimate son with a woman we have never even heard of and after twenty years she just pops up out of the blue to request body parts?"

"I don't know, man! I don't know," Sam said frustrated, running his hands through his hair. "All I do know is if we don't make sure . . . if we are wrong and this kid dies when we could have saved him, I don't know if I could live with that. I mean he could be our brother . . ." Sam let the sentence dangle. There wasn't a word Sam knew that had more power, more meaning . . . and more responsibility.

Dean stalked away. He didn't have to look at Sam to know that his little brother was having a conscience crisis. He could hear the angst in his voice. Dean knew he would give in – he couldn't let something like this weigh down on Sam – and it would. And if Dean were honest, he knew he couldn't stomach the idea of anyone else losing their life when he could possibly stop it. Knowing his dad was dead and burning in hell because of him was eating away at his soul. As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew that ignoring the kid when they could possibly save him (no matter how small the chance) could . . .would be the breaking point. The darkness that Dean had barely kept at bay since his father's death would overwhelm him and consume him whole. "_There's no way this kid is dad's. Maybe taking the test will help this woman to move on to another solution."_ Dean thought

"Fine Sammy. We'll do it. We'll have the stupid test. But just so you know, I don't believe a single word this woman said. I am doing this so I don't have to listen to you yammer about it for the next 3,000 miles."

Sam didn't say anything. The smile on Sam's face was thanks enough.

The test was relatively simple and two days later, while Dean was scanning the papers for a possible hunt, Sam's cell phone rang. Expecting the call, Sam glanced at Dean while punching the talk button. Dean didn't look up, his expression stony.

Dean was doing his best to keep his expression neutral but his stomach was turning flips. He repeated to himself "_No way. No way_," purposely keeping his eyes on the paper in his hands.

"Hello? Yes, this is he. Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah, I understand. What about . . . Uh huh. Okay. Yeah, thanks. We'll let you know." Sam snapped the phone shut, staring off into space. Dean looked up expectantly but Sam didn't say anything and his expression was unreadable. After a few seconds, Dean growled, "Well?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"You're not a match," Sam mumbled still staring off into space.

Dean sat up looking at Sam intently, "and you . . ."

". . . I am." Sam said finally looking at his brother. Taking a deep breath, Sam repeated himself with both trepidation and wonder in his voice. "I am."

"I . . ." Dean started but then stopped as he wasn't sure what to say. He had been so sure that something like this couldn't happen without his father knowing. He had been so sure that this was just the delusion of a desperate mother. He looked over at Sam who looked just as shell-shocked as he felt. "They're sure?" he asked.

It took a minute for Sam to realize that Dean had spoken to him. His mind was whirling at a speed too fast to focus on one individual thought. "Uh," Sam struggled to recall what Dean had asked him. "Uh, yeah. The test is pretty much error proof since a transplant from the wrong person would kill the patient." Sam sat down on the bed hard, like his legs were no longer willing to support him. "They want me to come in tomorrow for some preliminary tests and uh . . . give blood. We have the same blood type so they want to use it too . . ." Sam's voice faded away.

Dean stood up and moved to his brother's side. "Sammy? You okay?"

Dark green eyes met hazel eyes. "I think so. I mean we just found out that we have a little brother and that he's dying but I can save him so other than that I'm swell," Sam said. "Dean, I can save him," Sam said again, an edge of excitement in his voice.

"Hold on here Sammy – let's just slow down a minute and think." Dean started to pace the small room.

"Slow down? What do you mean, slow down? I can save him," Sam's voice had risen in his excitement. "Dean, he's our brother and I can save him. What is there to think about?"

Dean felt the edge of panic rise in him and fought it back down. "Look Sammy, I'm not saying you shouldn't save him. I'm just saying that we have to think this through. I mean, we are talking about a major operation here. What are the risks to you? And if you do this, isn't it announcing to the public that he is . . ." Dean still couldn't say brother, couldn't even wrap his head around it yet. "family? We could be putting him in more danger – I mean our family isn't the best loved among a certain crowd – you know the hell crowd."

"Dean. He. Is. Going. To. Die. I think he would be willing to take the risk. It doesn't get any worse than dead. Besides, we don't know that anything would happen. I mean, no one needs to find out."

"Sam, I know you want to help. It's just with everything that has happened and us not knowing exactly what that yellow-eyed son of a bitch has planned, I just don't like the idea of you being laid up in a hospital when you don't have to be – it leaves you too damn vulnerable."

"I know Dean, but I have to do this." Sam stood up and faced his brother, placing his hand on Dean's shoulder. "I'm his big brother, man. It's my job to look out for him."

Try as he might, Dean couldn't think of a single argument that would trump the Ace Sam had just played.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Dean was a nervous wreck the morning of the operation. Leaning back against the end of Sam's bed, the only sign of Dean's state of mind was the tapping of his fingers as he hummed Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

"Dude," Sam said, both annoyed and touched at Dean's obvious worry, "It'll be fine."

"I know," Dean snapped and then immediately regretted it. "I just wish we could get it over with already. We've been waiting for hours for them to come get you and there isn't a decent looking nurse in this entire hospital. I thought southern girls were supposed to be all soft spoken and hot."

Sam smiled at Dean's attempt to lighten the mood. "I saw a cute candy striper in . . ."

"Mr. Winchester?" a nurse said as she came in the door.

"Yes," both boys answered, causing the nurse to pause.

"I think she was talking to me, dude," Sam said with a grin.

"We're ready to take you in. I just need to administer a sedative to relax you and help the anesthesia to work and we'll get underway."

The nurse smiled as she emptied the syringe into the catheter in Sam's arm. "I'll be back in a minute," she said.

Sam felt the effects of the drug almost immediately. Smiling the grin of the slightly buzzed, he looked at Dean and said, "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."

The nurse came back in and began to unhook Sam's I.V. Sam reached his hand out and Dean took it immediately, holding it tight.

"Sammy? I'll be right here when you wake up, okay?"

"I know," Sam answered as they rolled the bed out of the door.

"I'll be right here," Dean whispered again as the door shut.

The silence in the OR waiting room was thick enough to smother Kate. It had been four hours since Jack and Sam had been taken in and the doctor was due any moment with an update.

She had made several attempts to make small talk with Dean but after being either growled at or ignored, stopped trying.

Dean resolutely stared at the magazine in his hands while his mind spun in endless circles. He was worried, which pissed him off. "_The doctor should have come with news by now. I hope everything's okay. It's not like Sammy hasn't been through enough – now he has to deal with this. I should have been the one that matched – course, Sam's liver is probably in better shape. Speaking of which, I could really use a drink. I hate hospitals. The last time I was in a hospital . . ." _Dean tried to stop the inevitable turn his thoughts had taken but it was useless. "_I should have died – I was supposed to die and instead Dad made a deal. I wonder if Kate knows about the crossroads demon. I wonder if she would have made a deal for Jack if Sam hadn't been a match. I should have died – not Dad. Sammy needs dad and now it looks like another son needs him too and he should be here. It's my fault he's not. God, I wish he were here . . ."_

Dean was startled out of his thoughts when Kate touched him on the shoulder. "The doctor's coming . . ."

Dean stood up and met the doctor at the door to the waiting room. "How's Sam?" he asked with no preliminaries.

The doctors smiled, understanding, and said, "Both boys are doing wonderfully. The operation went smoothly and barring any unforeseen complications, both should make a complete recovery."

Both Kate and Dean exhaled as if they had been holding their breaths. Looking briefly at each other in mutual understanding, Kate asked the next question before Dean could. "When can we see them?"

"Well, they will be in post-op for another hour or so but you can see them when we move them to a regular room. Since the boys are brothers, we thought we would put them in the same room," the doctor hesitated as he saw an expression of uncertainty cross Kate's face. "If that is alright with you. . ."

Kate looked at Dean for some sort of sign. Dean had no desire to get more involved with this than he had to but he knew Sam and Sam would want to be someplace close to the boy to keep an eye on him – just like Dean would want if it were he and Sam.

"Yeah, that's fine," Dean said tiredly, allowing himself to relax for the first time in two days.

An hour and a half later Kate and Dean stood vigil over the two sleeping boys. Sam was the first to come around, his first word a muttered "Dean?"

"Yeah Sammy, I'm here."

"What happened?" Sam said confused.

"The transplant went really good. The doc says you're going to be fine."

As memory and awareness flooded back into Sam, his eyes flew open, "Jack?" he asked.

"Jack's going to be fine too. You saved him,"

Sam's eyes fluttered closed again as his body relaxed and he muttered "good. That's good," and fell back to sleep.

It was another twenty minutes before Jack came around. Kate was instantly out of her chair and at his side.

"Mom? Mom, what happened?" Jack said. Dean was surprised at how much like Sam he sounded. He was doubly surprised when Jack's eyes flickered open to reveal two bright blue eyes instead of the trademark Winchester green.

"You've been sick, baby, but you're going to be better." Kate said as tears streamed down her face in relief. Dean backed off a couple of steps to give the two some privacy but he could still hear the conversation.

"Don't cry, mom. I'm fine," the boy said with a slurred voice.

"I know you are, I'm just really glad to see you," Kate answered sniffling.

"Had a weird dream." Jack said as his eyes slid closed again.

"Clowns or midgets?" Kate asked smiling. Both Dean and Jack smiled at that. It had the sound of a running joke between the two.

"Dreamed about dad." Dean froze, trying to look like he was focused on Sam's chart but listening intently.

"We were in this old cemetery and he had his hand on this guy's shoulder – don't know who he was. But all I could think was how happy I was to see him. Then he looked at me and he was smiling and tears were coming down his face and he looked, you know, proud of me, kinda. Then he took a few steps back and just dissolved into this really beautiful light." Jack was obviously trying to fight the effects of the drugs but it was a losing battle. "Good dream . . ." was the last thing he said before dozing off again.

"You sleep baby boy," Kate said softly as she bent down to kiss the boy's forehead. Straightening up, she looked at Dean and said, "I could sure use a drink. You?"

"Oh God, Yes."

After the third beer, Dean finally asked the question that had been bugging him since they had left the hospital. "I thought you said that dad didn't know about Jack?"

"He didn't," Kate answered, intently peeling the label off her beer bottle to avoid looking at Dean.

"But Jack said,"

"John didn't know about Jack but I did tell Jack some . . . carefully edited details about John. Jack started asking about his dad when he was about eight. My father was very involved with Jack's upbringing but I think he noticed that we never talked about his father and he got curious. I told him that he was named for his father, who was a hero who had saved my life and lots of others. I told him that his father was out saving other people's lives and that's why he couldn't be with us. I had a picture of John that I gave him to keep. That seemed to satisfy his curiosity for the most part." Kate laughed a little, remembering. "I think he thought John was like Superman or Batman – you know, having to keep his 'true identity' a secret . . ." Slowly, she sobered. "He is going to be sooo pissed at me. . ."

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "Pissed? Why pissed?"

Kate looked at him like he was stupid. "Wwweeeelllllll, let's see. The last thing he remembers is being in his dorm room. Now when he wakes up, he's going to find out that he had a genetic illness that destroyed his liver and he had to have a transplant from a half brother that he didn't even know existed – but I did."

"Ahh." Dean could see it. He couldn't imagine his dad knowing about Jack and never telling him and Sam. He would be pissed too. Dean's mind circled back around to Kate's comment. "Hey if this is genetic, should Sam and I get . . .

"No, you guys should be okay. Wilson Disease is a genetic disease that is passed down only if both parents carry the defective gene. I'm sure your mom was fine."

"That's good." Dean said softly, watching Kate as she continued to mutilate the beer label. "How about one more and we'll walk back?"


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: First let me apologize for anyone who has been following the story! Things at work had gotten so hellish, I thought maybe I was living in a Supernatural episode. That being said, I promise to be much better at updating. In fact, I'm uploading the rest of Part one and the first chapter of Part 2 today so I hope you enjoy.

As always, I own nothing but Jack and Kate. And reviews are really appreciated. Please let me know what you think.

8

"Dude? Hey Dude?"

Sam pressed his face into the pillow trying to ignore the voice in the dark. He was so tired.

"You awake?"

Sam grumbled. "No, Dean. I'm not awake. Go away."

"Wow, I don't know who this Dean guy is but there is obviously a lot of underlying hostility there . . ." an amused voice answered.

Sam's eyes popped open as he tried to remember where he was. "_Oh hospital, right_."

"Sorry to wake you but I was wondering if you had the remote."

Sam glanced at the boy – "little brother" – he reminded himself and said, "Uh, no." Reaching for his watch, which Dean had left on the bedside table, he looked and then squinted his eyes to make sure he had read it right. "Dude, it's 4:00 in the morning. What are you doing?"

"I'm bored. I can't sleep. I keep having weird dreams."

While Sam had been keeping a mostly regular schedule the past three days, Jack had been in and out of consciousness. Luckily, the doctor had said that was normal for someone who had been in a medical coma for a week.

Gently rolling over on his side, Sam sighed. He was glad that Jack seemed more coherent but really had no idea what to say to him. Dean, Kate and he had decided that Kate would be the one to explain Sam and Dean's sudden appearance. However, the plan only worked if Kate was there. "Go back to sleep," Sam said gruffly, hoping it to dissuade further conversation.

Sam heard a deep sigh answer from the other side of the room and smiled. He had just begun to drift off to sleep again when the light switched on over Jack's bed. "Jesus!" Sam yelped and covered his head with his pillow, "how about some warning."

"Oh, sorry," Jack said sheepishly. "I thought maybe I could find something to read."

"There's nothing to read in here but an old People magazine your mom had," Sam answered slowly pulling his head out, getting used to the light.

"Man, I wish I had my laptop," Jack sighed again. "So, now that you're awake, I'm Jack."

Sam sighed. "_Well that didn't work_". Carefully he answered Jack "Sam."

"So, Sam, what you in for?"

Sam thought honesty was the best policy if at all possible and said, "Transplant. You?"

Sam watched as Jack furrowed his brow thinking. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I think my mom said I was sick but I don't know what I had. I guess whatever it was required them cutting me open though. My back is killing me."

"Tell me about it," Sam muttered.

"So you a student too?" Jack asked, obviously too wired to sleep.

"Uh, no. I graduated already."

"UL?"

"Stanford."

"Wow, you some kind of brain or something?"

Sam snorted. "Uh, I guess."

"I'm a sophomore at Louisville. It killed my mom since she went to UK but I got a full scholarship so she got over it. Hey! What day is it?"

"_Random much?"_ Sam thought but outloud he said, "Friday, I think."

"No, what's the date?"

"March 23rd . . . maybe?"

"Any idea how the tournament's going?"

"Tournament?"

"You know NCAA? Basketball? Final Four? Any of this ringing a bell?"

It had been so long since Sam was concerned with anything normal like college basketball, he didn't even know how to answer.

Hearing the silence, Jack was afraid that he had offended his roommate. Quickly he said, "Hey dude, you know, lots of guys aren't into that kind of thing – sports and all. You've probably been busy, you know, doing whatever people do after going to Stanford, like, important stuff." Jack trailed off knowing how lame he sounded.

Sam smiled in the dim glow. Deciding to let Jack off the hook, he answered, "No, I like watching basketball, or I used to. I've just been kinda wrapped up in the . . . family business and then this transplant thing came up. Didn't realize that we were in the midst of March Madness."

"Oh, hey, completely understandable. But you know, Stanford made it into the tournament, as well as the big red Cards. If we could find that remote . . ."

Sam grimaced as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. The remote was lying on the bedside table and Sam tossed to the other bed, knowing that Jack would never let him get back to sleep now. There was something so innocent, so contagiously enthusiastic about him, Sam couldn't help but respond.

"Cool!" Jack declared, flipping the TV on, trying to find ESPN.


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter Seven

Dean could hear the yelling all the way down the hall but couldn't make out the words. He glanced at Kate as he hurried to Sam and Jack's door, Kate right behind him. Busting into the room, Dean slid to a halt at the sight before him.

Jack was in the midst of throwing a pillow at Sam's head as he yelled, "There's no way man! David Padgett could so kick Tim Young's butt all the way up and down the court!"

Sam was grinning from ear to ear, hands already up to defend himself from the pillow blow. "Oh yeah, resorting to violence. That's a great defense! Almost as good as Louisville's lame defensive plays!"

"Are you sure, they didn't do a brain transplant instead of a liver?" Jack challenged with a smile on his face.

"Am I going to have to separate you two?" Kate asked in a mock severe tone, hands planted on her hips.

"No," both boys answered in unison, trying to hide their smiles. "Ass." Jack muttered. "Jerk." Sam said back with a side-glance and snicker.

"Boys!" Kate said as she stepped towards Jack's bed and reaching to run her hand through his hair.

Ducking under her hand, Jack rolled his eyes, "Come on mom! Personal space."

Dean felt like he had entered the twilight zone. Kinda like he was watching an alternate version of his own life that he wasn't actually participating in. Regaining his equilibrium, he headed to Sam's bedside.

"Hey Sasquach. You must be feeling better."

Sam smiled at Dean and Dean was struck by the genuine feeling behind it. It had been a while since he had seen Sammy that happy – or relaxed. "Yeah," Sam replied. "Other than being woke up but this annoying whining sound way too early, I feel lots better."

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes. "Look who's whining now" he replied. Looking at Dean as if seeing him for the first time, Jack's eyes narrowed as if he were trying to remember something.

"You okay?" Sam asked, noticing immediately.

Shaking his head a little, as if dismissing an idea, Jack answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, if he's Sam, does that make you Frodo?"

Sam snickered again and said, "While the resemblance to a hobbit is unmistakable, this is actually my brother, Dean."

Kate interrupted before the conversation could get any sillier. "Well, it looks like you two have been getting to know each other. That's good." Kate cast Dean a meaningful look.

Dean caught the look and said, "Yeah, good. Hey, Sammy, you feel like going out for breakfast? The doc says you need to get up and walk if you want to get out of here and I hear the breakfast in the cafeteria is killer."

Sam looked at Dean for a moment and Jack watched as the two seem to communicate without any words. When the moment had passed, Sam nodded and said, "Let's hope it's just a figure of speech." Slowly getting to his feet, Sam headed out the door behind Dean, leaving Kate and Jack alone.

Kate was leaning against Jack and Sam's door, eyes closed, when Dean and Sam got back an hour later.

"Hey," Sam said touching her arm sympathetically. "How did it go?"

Kate opened her eyes and looked at the two brothers. "I'm not sure. I mean I told him about your dad and how we met and all that hoping that it would be easier to tell him about y'all but he just got really quiet. I asked if he was okay and he said he was but he sounded, I don't know, far away, I guess. He asked me if I could go to his dorm room and get his laptop but I think he just wanted me to leave." Kate shut her eyes again as a tear made its way down her cheek.

"It'll be okay. I'm sure he's just in shock," Sam said quietly.

"I hope so," Kate answered. Taking a deep breath and straightening her shoulders, she impatiently wiped the tears from her face and said, "I'm going to head over to campus and get his computer and then I'll be back. Maybe you could . . ." Kate looked at Sam and then Dean with hope.

"Yeah, we'll talk to him," Sam reassured.

Kate smiled her thank you and headed off down the hallway.

Once she had turned the corner, Sam and Dean looked at each other.

"Sammy, I don't know what to say to this kid," Dean said rubbing his eyes.

"Maybe we won't have to say anything. Maybe he will want to talk or, you know, has questions?" Sam answered.

Opening the door, the brothers went into the room slowly, looking for Jack. He was sitting up in his bed, staring out the window and didn't turn as Sam and Dean made their way into the room.

Dean cast a meaningful look at Sam. Sam moved towards Jack's bed but stopped at the end. "You okay, man?"

"I'm fine," the automatic reply came from Jack's mouth. Sam grimace. Sometimes, Jack sounded so much like Dean it was scary. The silence stretched out for a half minute before Jack spoke again. "Did you know?" he asked trying to hide the choke in his voice.

"About you?" Sam replied. "No, we didn't know until we got a message on our dad's cell phone from your mom about five days ago."

Jack silently nodded. Another minute went by before Jack trusted his voice enough to speak again. Turning so he faced the brothers, he asked, "So, he's dead?"

Dean's jaw involuntarily clenched and he looked down, studying his boots and refusing to answer. Sam immediately glanced at Dean, seeing the look of naked pain flash across his face before it was expertly masked. "Uh yeah, he died about five months ago." Sam answered quietly.

Jack nodded again as if confirming what his mother had told him. "And y'all were all ghost hunters or something . . ."

Sam grimaced. "Not exactly. It's kinda hard to explain." Sam looked at Dean hoping for some help but Dean looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than here.

"Mom said that basically all the monsters we were always told were our imagination are really real and it was his job to kill them. She said that's what y'all do too." Jack waited patiently, his face a complete mask.

Finally Dean spoke. "Okay, I guess it's not so hard to explain. Yeah, we know how it sounds but basically it's true. There are some bad things out there and it's our job to take them out. . ."

"Because one of them killed your mom . . ." Jack cut in softly.

Both Sam and Dean were stunned into silence at that. They had no idea that Kate had known about the yellow-eyed demon. She sure hadn't let on that their dad had told her about THE family secret and its origin. After all, the number one rule was "We do what we do and we shut up about it."

Jack didn't need the brothers, "_his brothers_," he thought, to answer. He could tell by the shocked look on their face that he had hit a nerve. He didn't mean to be callous – he was just trying to understand everything that his mom had told him.

"Okay." Jack said quietly, nodding.

"Look," Sam started again, "I know it's kinda hard to believe . . ."

"Not really," Jack answered. "I've always been pretty open-minded. I had a friend who lived in a haunted house. We saw the ghost a couple of times but it never tried to hurt us or anything." Jack paused before continuing. "The hard-to-believe part is that I have two brothers – half brothers – that I never knew about, one who just donated part of his liver to save my life." Jack took another deep breath. "Yeah, it freaks me out a little now that I've said it out loud."

"I'm right there with you," Dean said. Sam shot him a look of irritation, to which Dean said, "What?"

Jack smiled a little at that. "Look, it's not that I don't appreciate what you've done – I mean, I'd be dead if it weren't for you. I'm just, I don't know, trying to absorb it all."

"It'll take some time," Sam said understanding what the young man was going through. "We've had a little more time to soak it in but . . .it's not a bad thing – at least I don't think it is."

Jack smiled at that. "No," he said, "I guess it could be a lot worse."


	8. Chapter 8

Epilogue

Two days later Dean signed the release forms for Sam as Sam changed into a fresh pair of clothes. Heading back to the room, Dean's feelings were mixed. He was glad to be heading out on the road. It just wasn't in his nature to stay in one place for a long period of time and he had been in Louisville, KY longer than he had ever wanted to be. However, he felt kinda bad for Sam.

For the first time in a long time, Sam hadn't been consumed with the fear that he was going to go dark side. Making sure that Jack was going to be okay, both physically and mentally had been Sam's sole focus for the past two days and Dean had to admit that Sam had seemed better rested and more relaxed than he had since Jessica's death. While Dean still felt a little uncomfortable in Jack's presence, Sam had taken to Jack right away and the two had formed a real friendship. He knew that Sam missed his friends at Stanford and Jack somehow filled that void where Dean couldn't. If Dean was a little jealous of that, he would never admit it – not even to himself.

In any case, it was time to move on and Dean couldn't contain his eagerness as he entered Jack's hospital room for the last time. Sam had just come out of the bathroom and was stuffing his laptop into his satchel.

"We ready to head out?" Dean asked his brother.

"Yeah, I think so," Sam answered checking the nightstand one more time.

Kate stood up, gently hugging Dean and then Sam. "I don't know how to thank you. You've done more than given me back my son – you've given me back my life . . ."

Dean cleared his throat awkwardly.

Sam answered with a smile, "We got a brother out of the deal so let's call it even."

Dean moved to Jack's bed. "So, you'll be out of here in a couple of days?" he asked.

"Yeah, the doctor says I have to take medication so my body doesn't reject the Sam's mutant liver, but I'm good. Listen . . ."

Dean looked at the ground before saying, "Yeah, uh, I don't do chick flick moments so . . .be good and we'll catch you later."

Jack smiled and said, "Yeah, later."

Jack turned to Sam and reached out to grasp his hand in a handshake. Sam took the proffered hand and pulled Jack close to him. Quietly he said, "Take care of yourself."

"I will, man. You too."

Leaning back, Sam looked into Jack's eyes "And look, if you ever need anything – anything at all, you have my email and cell number. Just call and Dean and I will be back before you know it."

Smiling into his big brother's eyes, Jack replied, "Same goes for you. Let me know if you need any help kicking Casper's ass and I'll come running with my Louisville slugger."

Sam laughed, pulling Jack to him one more time before letting go. If Sam had tears in his eyes as he walked through the door, he never let them fall.

Author Note: Okay friends, there is the end of Part one! Hope you waded through it because it was just setting the stage for Part 2 and Part 3, which has lots more angst and action. Hope you'll come along for the ride!


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Now the fun really begins! Please, please, please review. I love to hear what you think!

The Blood That Binds Them, Part II

To: email address Sam Winchester

From: email address Jack McKenzie

Subject: Need your expertise . . .

Date: June 30, 2007

Hey Samwise,

I've got a situation and maybe that freakishly large brain of yours can figure this out cause I have to admit, man, I'm a little worried. I'm just going to spit it out. OK, I think maybe I'm going insane. I don't mean "I met a girl and she's driving me crazy" insane or "the end of the semester is coming and I don't know how I'm going to get everything done" insane. This is more of a "carrying on a conversation with a mailbox, they're coming to take me away, ha, ha" insane.

Do you know what a paranoid schizophrenic is? Our family has had some experience with it. It's the same thing that guy in "A Beautiful Mind" had – did you see that? Basically, it's when your mind makes up people and they seem real but they aren't. I'm not quite there yet but I think maybe I am heading that way.

A couple of weeks ago, I started getting these killer headaches. Then the other day, I'm sitting in the student union and I hear this voice talking but when I look around there is no one there. I don't suppose you know of a supernatural thing like this, do you? Maybe I'm being haunted or something. I gotta tell you, it would be so much better than the alternative.

Anyway, think on it and let me know. Tell Deano I said hey and take care.

Jack

P.S. Let's just keep this between us for now – at least till we can figure it out.

Sam snapped his laptop closed and thought for a minute. If Jack was worried enough to ask for Sam's help then he must be freaked.

After Sam and Dean had left Kentucky, he and Jack had been emailing back and forth and had talked a couple of times on the phone. Sam looked forward to hearing from Jack - it gave him a sense of normalcy in the chaos that was his life. It was soothing to hear Jack go on about classes and girls and his mom – everything always seemed good with him. Sam could pretend for a few minutes that Dean hadn't sold his soul to save him. Sam could pretend he was normal too.

The fact that something was going on with Jack that could have supernatural origins brought Sam's protective instinct rushing to the surface. He was already in danger of losing Dean. Sam was determined to do whatever he needed to save him. Knowing Jack could be in danger too, was just too much. An anger whirled up in Sam. He was damn well going to protect Jack – and he was going to save Dean. He wasn't going to lose anyone else.

Looking at the bathroom door, Sam stood and began packing his duffel. He and Dean had luckily just finished a hunt so they could leave for Kentucky this morning. Sam frowned. He wasn't sure how Dean would take this. Dean didn't talk about Jack much. In fact, Dean hadn't mentioned Jack in the last couple of months. Of course, they had been busy tracking down the demons that had come out of the Devil's Gate. But every time Sam brought Jack up, Dean would just nod and then change the subject. It was weird.

Dean came out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, saying, "Wow, there's nothing like a twenty minute hot shower – not that you're going to find out cause I just used . . . are we going someplace?" Dean asked taking in his brother's tense frame and hurried packing.

"Louisville."

Dean's face lost its usual smirk and grew serious. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, right now he is. He doesn't want me to tell anyone but I think he's having some trouble – our kind of trouble."

Dean swore under his breath. Grabbing some boxers and his jeans, he began to calculate how long it would take to get to Kentucky.


	10. Chapter 10

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The Blood That Binds Them Part 2 - Chapter Two

"Wow, you're here in Louisville?" Jack's voice couldn't contain his enthusiasm.

"Yeah, we were coming through anyway so I thought we could get together," Sam said into the cell as the Impala sped across the Ohio River Bridge.

"Oh man. You didn't tell Dean about . . . you know" Jack asked. Sam could almost hear the embarrassment in the younger man's voice.

"You told me not to tell anyone," Sam answered thinking "_Not exactly a lie_."

"Good. I can just imagine what he would say. It probably wouldn't surprise him at all if I was cracking up," Jack answered.

"Listen, Jack. I think you should tell Dean. He's really good at . . ."

"Please Sam – not yet. Let's just . . .let's see if the two of us can work it out first and if we can't, we'll ask him, okay?" Jack's voice had a slight edge of panic to it and it made Sam's heart hurt. He wasn't sure why Jack was so dead set against telling Dean but he let it go.

"Okay. We'll wait."

"Great! Thanks bro. Listen I have to run to class but I'll be done in an hour. Let's meet at the Starbuck's on Campus. It's on the corner of 3rd and Cardinal Way. Think you can find it?"

"Yeah, sure. We'll meet you there."

"Good – I'll see you then and Sam . . .thanks."

An hour later, Dean scowled at the menu trying to figure out how to order a large black coffee. He hated these girly, Seattle wanna-be coffee houses. Finally, he just went to the counter and said, "Large plain coffee." He scowled again at Sam who was trying to hide his grin behind his tooty-fruity, whip cream, foo-foo drink.

They had just taken a seat when Jack came in through the door looking around. A smile broke out over his face at the sight of his two brothers. Striding forward he immediately reached his hand out for Sam's and pulled the taller man to him as Sam pounded him on the back. Stepping back he held his hand out to Dean but stopped at a handshake. It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see his oldest brother but he really didn't know Dean that well – plus Dean was always sending out that "Don't touch me" vibe.

Jack went to the counter and ordered a vanilla cappuccino, half decaf with skim, making Dean roll his eyes and mutter, "Freaks," under his breath. Sam snorted.

The boys spent a good hour catching up on everything from Jack's classes to the more interesting hunts Dean and Sam had been on. Jack laughed so hard at Dean's description of Sam after he lost the rabbit's foot at Black Rock, that he was afraid that coffee was going to come out his nose. Finally, the three brothers sat back, having run out of the obvious things to say.

Sam shot Dean a look and Jack noticed that Dean immediately got up, saying, "Well, I'm going to check out the college girl scene while you two geeks talk about your classes and stuff. Give me a call when you get bored of quantum philosophy or whatever."

As Dean walked out the door, Jack turned to Sam and said, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

Suddenly Jack's eyes squinted in pain and he began to rub his forehead. "Uh, know what the other is thinking without saying anything." Jack answered and then winced again.

"I live with him every day, all day. Dude, you okay?" Sam asked concerned. The color in Jack's face had fled leaving him pale and shaking.

"Yeah, just a headache." Jack mumbled as his breathing sped up. "It should ease off in a second . . ." _I hope_.

Sam felt helpless as he watched his little brother fight off the pain. "_This must be what it feels like for Dean when I get a headache . . .Oh God._" Sam thought as a horrible idea began to swirl in his head.

"What?" Jack asked looking up, as if he sensed Sam's turn of thought.

Sam's mind was going a mile a minute. "Nothing. – Just you know, worried." In his head, Sam was going through possible scenarios. "_I haven't had a vision in months – well just the one but that was a fluke- but I was still having visions pretty regularly when the transplant was done. The transplant where Jack not only received a piece of my liver but_ _several pints of my blood – the same blood the demon had contaminated when I was six months old. Man, we really need Dean here but I haven't been able to tell him about the blood. How are we going to explain this to him?_" Sam thought, frowning over his coffee.

Jack sighed as he tried to rub the pain from his eyes. "Dude, I told you, I'm not ready to tell Dean and I don't know what you're talking about. Something is wrong with your blood?"

Sam masked his initial surprise as well as he could but he wasn't the master Dean was. "What?"

"What's wrong with your blood?" Jack asked again irritably.

"What makes you think there is something wrong with my blood?"

"Cause you just said that it was contaminated or something." Jack replied looking at Sam for the first time since the headache hit.

"Uh, no, I didn't."

"Sam, I was sitting right here." Jack lowered his voice and looked around before continuing. "I heard you say something about a demon contaminating your blood and that Dean didn't know but we needed to tell him or some shit like that."

Fear and guilt coiled in Sam's stomach. Very carefully, Sam reached out, putting his hands on Jack's forearms in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "No, I didn't say that. I was thinking it but I didn't say it."

"What?" Jack said with a hint of panic in his voice.

Sam didn't say anything but he looked hard at Jack. As hazel eyes met blue ones, Sam deliberately thought, "_Jack, Can you hear me? If you can, look at my lips. I'm not talking. I'm just thinking_."

Jack's eyes got wide as they jumped from Sam's eyes down to his mouth and back up to his eyes again. Sam shouldn't have been surprised when Jack suddenly grasped Sam's forearms in a painfully tight grip. "Oh God, I think . . I think I'm going to be . . ." Sam let go just as Jack jumped from his chair and bolted into the men's bathroom.

Sam ran his hands through his hair and covered his eyes. All he could think was, "_Oh God, what have I done?"_


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for everyone reading and reviewing - I love it!!

As always, I own nothing but Jack and Kate. . . . enjoy!

Chapter Three

Dean felt slighty relieved when he walked out of the coffee bar. It wasn't that he didn't like the kid – "_Hell, it's impossible to not like him – he has that Winchester charm_," Dean thought to himself smiling. It was just that Dean felt an overwhelming need to keep Jack at arm's length.

He knew the deal he had made was killing Sammy. Dean just didn't think it was right to get close to Jack just to up and die on him too. He had enough guilt over leaving Sammy. "_Besides_," Dean thought determinedly, "_hopefully, after I'm gone, Sammy will quit hunting and go back to a regular life with law school and a girlfriend. He'll need Jack to help him do that so the further we can keep Jack from this life the better." _

The thought of someone taking his place at Sam's side, watching Sam finally get the life he deserved made Dean's jaw clench to the point of cracking. That was the only regret Dean had about making the deal. He wanted to be the one to provide Sam with the opportunity to have a real life. If he were honest, he wanted to live down the block from Sam and have two point five kids and a dog named Tiger. And on weekend his and Sam's kids would play while the two of them shot the shit over the grill. Dean thought back to the Dginn and the life he had in his mind before forcefully pushing it away.

Dean shook his head and pushed the regrets behind the wall in his mind. Whatever he had to do, whatever he had to give up, it was all worth it. Sam was alive and that was the most important thing. If Dean resented Jack and the place he would take when Dean was gone, well, he would just have to live with that – "_or not – as the case may be_." He snorted cynically.

Dean was leaning against the hood of the Impala when his thoughts were interrupted but he wasn't sure by what. He had positioned himself so he could watch Sam through the window without being seen by Jack. His senses on alert, he looked around for anything that could pose a danger and then glanced back into the coffee shop window. When Sam leaned over and grasped Jack's arms, Dean's big brother alert sounded loud. Dean knew Sam's face better than he knew his own and no matter how Sam tried to hide it, Dean could see he was freaked.

Dean watched as Sam put his head down on the table. Cursing, he pulled out his cell phone, wishing that he hadn't promised to stay out of sight until Sam could get Jack to agree to confide in him. Dean drummed his hand on the hood as he watched Sam slowly reach into his pocket to pull out the phone.

He answered. "Dean?"

"Sammy, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Oh God, Dean. It's all my fault," Sam said miserably, lifting his head and looking around until he spotted Dean outside. "I did this. It's my fault." Sam's face crumbled as he met Dean's eyes.

"Screw This!" Dean said angrily, snapping the phone shut and jogging across the street to the coffee shop. He threw open the door and was seated across from Sam within seconds. "Sam, Sam, you have to tell me what's wrong dude." He said as Sam started shaking his head. "I can't help if you don't tell me."

Just then, Jack came out of the bathroom, stopping cold the moment he caught sight of the two brothers. As they turned to look at him, Jack stumbled back a couple of steps, his hand going to his head as a quiet groan came out of his mouth. Jumbled voices filled his head - Sam's guilt and recrimination, Dean's frustration, anger and worry, the curiosity of the other patrons – they all got louder and louder. Jack felt sick to his stomach again as his panic shot up another notch. Rubbing his hands over his face in an attempt to quiet the voices, Jack's face filled with horror when they came away bloody. "Oh God," he whispered, looking from his hands to his brothers and feeling their fear. Jack didn't know what to do so he fell back on human instinct – he ran.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Four

"Stevenson Dorm. He lives in Stevenson. I think it's over that way," Sam said in a low voice.

Dean ground his teeth together, keeping a tight grip on the swirl of emotions raging through him. He had only gotten the minimal facts out of Sam before Sam insisted they go after Jack. Dean's anger at Sam keeping the details of his experience with the Yellow Eyed Demon (both at Cold Oaks and in his nursery) warred with his worry over both Sam and Jack. Sam's anxiety and guilt were written all over his face and Jack's terror had been obvious. Both his little brothers were in trouble and Dean had no idea how to fix it.

Sam and Dean wove their way through the students – all who seemed to be packed and leaving in mass. They waited silently for the elevator to take them up to Jack's floor. Dean glanced at Sam, checking his little brother. As they stepped into the elevator, Dean tried to ease Sam's mind. "This isn't your fault. You didn't know."

"You were right," Sam said back, guilt and misery lacing his voice. "I didn't think it through. I should have suspected. This is all my fault. I did this to him just like the demon did it to me."

"Stop It!" Dean said truly pissed off now. "What you did was save his life. I know you aren't sorry for that and if he's pissed at you for doing it then he's being an asshole."

Sam grunted and Dean could tell his words were having no effect whatsoever.

Sam stepped off the elevator with Dean right behind him. They took a second to orient themselves and headed down the hallway. Stopping in front of Jack's door, Sam raised his hand to knock and hesitated. "_What if he doesn't want to see me? I mean who can blame him. What if he hates me? I can't believe I did this to my own brother. Christ, I just bring death and despair to everyone who ever cared about me._" Sam's hand dropped to his side.

"Jesus, Sam, grow a sac," Dean said irritably. He didn't mean to take his anger out on his brother but Sam's ability to blame himself for everything from world hunger to running out of change for the parking meter frustrated Dean to no end. The thought that Jack might make it worse clawed in Dean's stomach.

Bang. Bang. Dean pounded on the door twice, yelled, "It's us" and walked in, not waiting for a "Come In." Sam followed close behind taking in the room he had only heard described in emails. The left side of the room was obviously Jack's. Posters adorned most of the wall with no theme Sam could detect. There was one of a young Bob Dylan, another of a Chagall painting, and a third of Tiger Woods. Jack turned around as the door swung open but didn't hesitate in what he was doing – packing - "_Oh, God. He's packing_," Sam thought despondently "_He's going to run from us . . ._"

"Where's your roommate?" Dean asked through clenched teeth.

"Gone." Jack said without looking up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dean growled again.

Jack's head jerked up, his eyes turning an icy blue. "I'm studying the martial arts . . .what does it look like I'm doing, brain trust?"

Dean counted to ten before speaking again, trying to keep his temper reigned in. "Look, you're freaked. I get that. But you can't run away from something like this. We need to stay here and figure it out."

Jack moved back to the dresser, pulling out a stack of tee shirts and throwing them into the bag. "I can't stay here and figure it out," he replied stonily. "It's the end of the summer session. Mom's birthday is tomorrow and Monday is July 4th. I have to go home."

"Cancel it. This is more important," Dean ground out.

Sam winced at Dean's tone even as relief swept through him – Jack wasn't running from them. Before Sam could say anything, Jack had whirled on Dean, moving to stand inches from him, "Who the fuck do you think you are? Just because you didn't have any kind of family life doesn't mean I can blow mine off. We may be related but that doesn't mean you have a say in my life! I grew up just fine without a father and I sure as hell don't need you to try and step into the role."

Dean's temper snapped, "No, what you need is a good ass kickin' since you are obviously so stupid you can't see the world of hurt you just stepped into."

"Dean," Sam said softly, placing a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Back . . ."

Jack's voice dropped an octave as he got even more in Dean's face – although it didn't seem possible. "Look, you paramilitary wacko, you think you can take me? Give it your best shot!"

"That's it - you son of a . . ." Dean growled moving to take Jack down.

"Stop It!" Sam yelled at the top of his voice, moving between the two men, the anger Sam had been trying to fight surfacing. "Both of you just stop it. Dean, back off!" he said as he put both hands on Dean's chest. Dean looked at Sam, trying to figure out a way to get around him without hurting him. Realizing it wasn't doable, Dean stepped back, took a deep breath and said, "I'll wait for you in the car," and stalked out.

Sam heaved a sigh, counted to ten to try and settle his anger and turned to face Jack. Their eyes met for a second before Jack backed down, turned and resumed packing. Not looking at Sam, he said, "Dude, how do you live with him every day? What an asshole. It would be like living with a drill sergeant."

Sam snorted a little at that. "He's really not that bad." Sam thought back to the days when he and his father had spent a majority of their time yelling at each other. Being caught in the middle of Dean and Jack gave Sam a guilty appreciation for everything he and his dad had put Dean through.

"Yeah, right." Jack said with exaggerated disbelief.

"No, really. I mean I know he seems gruff . . ."

"And the prize for understatement of the year goes to . . ."

Sam continued as if he wasn't interrupted, "but he's worried about you. We both are. He just has a hard time showing it. He just wants you to be safe and he's frustrated."

Jack made a non-committal noise. "If that is worried, then I would love to see him truly pissed off – I bet his head would actually spin before completely blowing off."

Sam smiled a little at the mental image. "Speaking of head's exploding, how's yours?"

"Better," Jack replied, sitting on the bed and zipping up his duffel. "The nose bleed stopped by the time I got here."

"Can you still . . ."

"No, the little voices in my head have shut up, thank God," Jack leaned back against the wall and looked at Sam expectantly. "So, you want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Sam frowned, "Not really but you should probably know." Sam took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start. Deciding there really wasn't any other choice, he started at the beginning. "It all started when I was six months old . . ."

An hour later, Jack was still in the same spot, a look of skepticism/dread plastered on his face. Sam had to smile. "Dude, move your face before it gets stuck like that."

Jack shook his head, "Sorry man, it's just . . . wow. I mean . . . visions of people dying? I thought this was a bitch but . . ."

"It could be worse," Sam replied quietly, thinking of Lily who accidentally killed her girlfriend by touching her. Dark anger swirled in him as he considered all the people who had died all because of the demon.

"I guess," Jack said doubtfully. "So, I don't suppose there is a way to filter your funk demon blood out of mine?" Jack asked hoping Sam caught the teasing tone of his voice. No matter what happened, Jack didn't want to lose Sam. He had gotten used to having an older brother – and he didn't want to give that up just yet.

Sam forced a smile. "Not that we can figure out. Listen, " Sam said, sitting forward. "I had no idea this would happen and God, I am so damn sorry. I know you must be pissed at me and I don't blame you. If there was any way I could fix this for you I would. I . . . I'm .. . "

Jack smirked at his big brother. "Well damn it, that's what I get when some random brother of mine shows up just in time to save my life. Next time, I'll be sure to do a more thorough screening of the candidates, you know, interviews, a credit check . . ." Sobering a bit, he looked at Sam. "So what do we do now?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Sam answered with a shake of his head. "I don't think there is any research on this. I haven't been able to find any and you know I've looked. I think I may know someone who can help but we need to call first. In any case, I know it's inconvenient but I really think we should stick together until we figure this out."

"Right. So, you got any plans for the Fourth?" Jack asked picking up his bag.

Dean watched as Sam and Jack made their way to the Impala. Dean knew he shouldn't have lost his temper but damn it, he was just trying to keep Jack safe. "_At least, it looks like Jack and Sam had made up. Hopefully Sam was able to talk some sense into him_."

As Jack came up, he hesitated as he looked at Dean. Slowly he nodded and threw his duffel in the trunk Sam had opened. Dean nodded back. "_At least he doesn't feel the need to have a heart-to-heart so we can all get our feelings out on the table and have a good cry_," Dean thought. As he got into the Impala's driver side, Dean said, "So, where are we headed?"

"Danville" Sam answered looking hard at Dean. Dean started to argue but Sam hit him hard in the arm. "We're spending the holiday weekend at Jack's house before the three of us head out on a road trip."

"Whatever," Dean grumbled, turning the engine over and heading out of the parking lot with Metallica blaring.

Jack leaned forward from the back seat so he was between Sam and Dean. Winking at Sam, Jack turned to Dean and said, "Hey Dude. Max Headroom called. He wants his tape collection back."

Dean rolled his eyes as Sam snickered. "Rules of the Road, Jackie Boy. Driver picks the music . . ." Dean looked at Sam as they said in unison, "Shotgun shuts his cakehole."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Five

"You sure your mom won't mind if we just show up?" Sam said worried. He wasn't sure what Kate's birthday plans usually entailed but he sure didn't want to step on any family traditions.

"Naw, y'all are fine," Jack reassured him for the third time. "I was supposed to ride home with a buddy of mine later on tonight but she should be home from work by now. Turn right up here. It's the white one on the corner."

"_Damn_," Dean thought pulling into the driveway, taking in the two-story colonial with a sizeable (and well manicured) front and side lawn. "_Sam was right. Money is not something this woman has to worry about._" Coming to a stop in front of the double garage, Sam and Jack jumped out to get their stuff. Dean came more slowly. It's not as if Dean had never been in a really, really nice house – "_It's just that usually I'm breaking in,_" Dean thought with a snort.

Dean turned to look at Jack. "Dude, you guys rich?"

"Geeeze Dean! Rude much?" Sam said embarrassed by Dean's blunt question.

Jack blushed slightly. "Naw, the house used to belong to my grandparents and we inherited it after my granddaddy died. Let's go in through the garage."

Jack punched in the security code and the garage door lifted open. Dean's eyes widened in appreciation.

"Hey, not bad! Not a Chevy but a nice runner up! What is it, a '67?" Dean asked as he ran his hand over the fender of the two-door, midnight blue Pontiac Temptest.

" '66. It's mom's baby. She says she is going to give it to me when I graduate but I don't believe her. She loves that car." Jack moved past the car heading for the door at the far side when he pulled up in a sudden halt.

Dean and Sam went on instant alert. "What is it?" Sam asked in a whisper.

"Nothing." Jack said hurriedly as he turned and headed back towards his brothers. "I just . . . maybe we should have called mom before just showing up, you know? I mean, give her a head's up."

"What's the problem," Dean asked. Jack's face colored making Dean even more curious. He moved past Jack and as he got closer to the door, he could hear it.

"Dude! Your mom is totally jamming out! Is that the BOSS I hear?" Dean grinned from ear to ear at Jack's discomfort. Turning the doorknob, Dean was in the kitchen of the house even as Jack said, "Dean, wait!"

"Mom! We're home!" Dean hollered moving into the kitchen. What Dean saw made his jaw drop.

Kate had apparently not heard the call over the blaring music. There she was in all her glory, standing on a window bench, singing Glory Days at the top of her lungs into a wooden spoon.

"Oh, god," Dean heard Jack mutter from behind him as Sam came in last saying, "Jack, what . . ." Dean turned to see that Sam had the same look of shock he had just had. Sam turned to look at Dean, who laughed at Sam's grin of delight.

Just as the crescendo of the song hit, Kate whirled around on the bench ready to belt out the final chorus. "Glory Days, well, they'll pass you OH SHIT!" she screamed, catching sight of the boys and toppling off the bench. All three boys rushed forward to catch her before she went completely down.

After the boys made sure she was going to stay on her feet, Kate whacked all three of them on the arm with the spoon. "Jesus Christ, y'all scared me!" she yelled. "Don't you heathens know how to knock?" Suzanne stomped over to the stereo and hit the power button.

"We could have come in here with a brass band and you wouldn't have heard it," Jack accused, rubbing his sore arm.

"Well as you don't have a brass band, you'll never know if that is true or not," Kate said tartly, kissing Jack on the head and then turning to give Dean and Sam a brief hug.

"Why can't you be like other moms? You know, drive a Buick, listen to Elevator music, play bridge . . ." Jack muttered.

"Because I'm entirely too cool for that . . ." Kate answered turning to check a pot on the stove.

"Oh, yeah," Jack said smartly back. "Springsteen is sooo cool . . ."

"Hey!" she said as she whacked him a second time. "I won't have you talking about your future step father like that!" Jack rolled his eyes as Kate turned to Dean and Sam with a warm smile. "So y'all have come to celebrate my birthday with us! That's fantastic! Supper's almost ready – hope you guys like barbeque!"

It had been a surreal couple of days for Dean. Lying under his car, tuning up the Impala, Deans smiled. "_It certainly has a Djinn-like quality – too good to be true_," he thought. Not that it had been bad in any way.

Kate had made sure that Sam and Dean had felt welcomed. Even after she caught him salting the doors and assured him there was no need, she let him do it anyway. When Dean asked her about it later, Kate enigmatically smiled and said, "I'm the mother of John Winchester's son. You think I don't know the importance of protection?" Dean smiled at the turn of the phrase and was about to comment on the timing of Jack's birth when Kate punched him on the shoulder. "You know what I mean!"

He and Sam had each received a guest room to themselves, which at first seemed like a luxury until Dean realized he had trouble sleeping without the sound of Sam's light snore in the room. In fact, Dean had been on edge since they had arrived even though he couldn't figure out why. "_Maybe it's just the Pleasantville vibe you get around here_," Dean thought to himself as he slid out from under the car in search of a wrench. He was surprised to find Kate standing in the door looking down at him.

"Where's Jack and Sam?" he asked.

"Church."

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "Huh," he said with non-committal grunt but secretly pleased that the events of the last couple of years hadn't completely annihilated Sam's faith. "You don't go?"

"Not so much since my daddy died," Kate answered. "His church was a little too . . . conservative for me and I haven't found another one I'm comfortable in."

Dean smirked. "I've never found one I'm comfortable in."

Kate smiled. Dean waited, knowing there was something that she wanted to say.

"So a road trip, huh?"

"_Ahh_," Dean thought, "_That's what it is_." To Kate, he answered, "Yeah, you know. Three single guys looking for love and adventure on the open road . . ."

"Yeah . . . right." Kate turned as if she was going to go back in the house but stopped and turned back to Dean.

"You know, I'm pretty smart. I'm also a woman, which gives me the intuition edge. I know something is going on. I won't ask you what it is . . .Jack is twenty-one and as much as I hate it, his life is his business and if he wants to tell me, he will. I just want you to know that Jack is the most important thing in my life and if something was to ever happen to him I'd . . .well, I don't know what I would do but it would be bad . . . very, very bad."

Dean stood up and put on his best "sincere" face. "I promise Kate. Nothing is going on. We just want to get to know Jack better and a road trip is a great way to do that."

"Uh-huh. And you don't check on Jack and Sam while they sleep," Kate said knowingly. "Two or three times a night."

"_Damn,_" Dean thought, "_I must be losing my touch_."

Kate smiled as if Dean had said it out loud. "I told you – intuition – plus it helps that I'm an incredibly light sleeper myself. Look, if you are half as good as your daddy was, I shouldn't have anything to worry about. But I will . . . because I'm a mother . . . and that's what mothers do."

"Yeah, well," Dean smiled back a little wistfully. "I can't stop you from doing that but I want you to know that I would throw myself into the pit of hell before I let anything happen to either of them."

Kate reached out and put a hand on Dean's shoulder. "I'm going to hold you to that," she said semi-seriously and then headed back into the house.

Dean sighed as he sat back down next to the Impala. "_You're going to have to stand in line . . ."_

Kate heard a car door slam and headed out to the garage at the same time Dean was pulling himself out of the Impala. The sight that greeted her was not what she expected.

There was Jack with a blood covered towel to his face, head tilted up while Sam helped him hold it in place, leading the way to the door.

"What happened," she asked with a slight tinge of panic.

"Nothing," Sam answered evenly, never taking his eyes from Jack. "We were horsing around after the service and I accidentally caught him in the nose with my elbow. He'll be okay."

Kate frowned and glanced at her watch. The service had only started 30 minutes ago. By her calculation, they still had twenty to thirty minutes left but she let it go reminding herself of what she had said to Dean. "_If he wants to tell me, he will_."

"Do you need ice?" Kate asked as she and Dean followed them into the house.

"No, no, we're fine," Sam answered, glancing at Dean and then steering Jack towards the bathroom. "We're just going to get cleaned up."

"Uh, okay," Kate answered watching the three boys head down the hall. "I'll just finish up dinner . . ." she said. After the bathroom door shut she added, " and pretend I don't know that something is wrong."

As soon as the door shut, Dean turned to Sam, "What happened?"

Sam shrugged as he removed the towel. Dean grasped Jack's face, turning it left and right to make sure that it was just a nosebleed and not an injury while Sam rinsed the towel out in the sink.

"It came on fast," Jack said as his eyes squinted in the daylight from the window. Dean moved to close the shutters. "I was fine and then the preacher started into this whole apocalyptic spiel about the anti-christ coming back and taking over the world and then bam . . ." Jack heaved a sigh of relief as Sam put the hot washcloth over his eyes.

"Bam, what?" Dean prompted impatiently.

"You know," Jack said his voice muffled by the cloth. "Headache that makes you want to puke. Voices from everywhere. I don't know how I got from the sanctuary to the street."

"I hauled your ass out of there, that's how." Sam said quietly looking at Dean and then Jack.

Jack pulled the cloth from his face. "Yeah, thank God you were there." He looked at Sam gratefully. "I can just imagine if you hadn't been. With my medical history they would have had me at the hospital in no time flat." Jack stood up, stumbled and then righted himself.

"How often does this happen," Dean wanted to know.

Jack scrunched his eyes in thought. "Usually I don't have them this close together. Before now, maybe once a week or so?"

"So they are getting worse," Dean grimly reasoned out loud. He remembered when Sam had first started to have his waking visions and how they got progressively worse both in frequency and pain as time had gone on.

"Why don't you go lay down?" Sam said opening the door and leading Jack upstairs to his room."

Jack was still obviously in pain but he stripped his shirt off and turned to Sam. "I don't want mom to worry. I don't want her to know."

"We'll make up something – a headache from the hit," Dean said, watching Jack wad up the bloodied shirt and throw it in the corner.

"Let Sam do it," Jack said wearily as he lay down on his bed, throwing his arm over his eyes. "He has a more convincing sincere face." Jack's breathing deepened almost immediately. Sam reached over and pushed Jack's hair off his forehead gently. Dean swallowed a lump in his throat, having done that a dozen times to Sam after he succumbed to the aftermath of one of his visions. Turning slowly, the boys made their way out of the room quietly, shutting the door behind them.

Sam looked at Dean meaningfully and they silently headed to Sam's guest room. Shutting the door again to insure privacy, Dean immediately started pacing as Sam sat on the bed and ran his hands through his hair.

"I don't get this. I just don't," Dean said with agitation in his voice. "The visions you got were always connected to the Yellow-Eyed Demon and the kids like you. You haven't had a vision since we wasted the SOB so what is setting him off?"

Dean looked at Sam, but Sam wouldn't meet his eyes or say anything. "_Well this is typical Sam 'I know something but I don't want to tell you' posture,_" he thought. He sat on the bed next to his brother, took a deep breath and said, "What?" as calmly as he could.

Sam didn't say anything and Dean knew he would have to be patient. After a minute or so, Sam muttered, "Just the one . . ."

Dean's head jerked to look at Sam. "Just the one what?"

"Vision," Sam answered, irritated that Dean had pushed him into admitting something he didn't like to think about.

"What? When?" Dean said jumping back up.

"In Elizabethville, when you were trapped in that creepy basement with that demon chick. I saw you and her and the cave in but I couldn't see where the house was. That's when I went to the bar to find out where she lived . . ." Sam trailed off still unable to look at his brother.

"Damn it, Sam!" Dean exploded. "First the whole forced to drink demon blood as a baby thing and now this!"

"I thought it was a fluke!" Sam said miserably.

"You mean you hoped it was a fluke! You pretended it was a fluke!"

"I didn't want to worry you," Sam said

"And a damn skippy job you're doing of that!" Dean said flopping back down on the bed. Dean heaved a sigh. "Okay, is there anything else you need to tell me? Anything? You're not CIA, are you? You don't have fantasies about Scott Bakula? Anything? Because, now is the time to tell me, Sammy."

"No," Sam said with a small smile, "No more secrets, no cross-dressing, that's it."

"Good. Cause if you drop something like this on me again, I'm going to punch you until you cry like a little girl, you got it?"

"Yeah, Dean. I got it. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well. Let's worry about the problem at hand. I called this morning and we can come on anytime. It's about a 10-hour drive. If we left now we could make it by midnight."

Sam leaned back on the bed next to his brother, his shoulder touching Dean's comfortably. "There's no way to get out of here today with making Kate suspicious and I would just as soon not have to explain this to her."

Dean grimaced. "She's suspicious already. Okay, so, we head out first thing in the morning and try to make it look like we are eager to be on the road. . ." "_and pray she doesn't ask to many questions,_" Dean thought.


	14. Chapter 14

The boys got away better than they thought they would. Kate wasn't happy about the early departure but she didn't make a big fuss. Sam was worried when he walked by Jack's bedroom and saw Kate and Jack in a quiet but intense conversation but they had gotten off with the minimum amount of fuss.

The trip had gone smoothly with the brothers talking about everything and nothing at all. No mention was made of demons or visions or voices. After lunch both Sam and Jack fell asleep leaving Dean to drive through Missouri. As the afternoon sun began to set, Jack sat up in the back and stretched, and leaned over the seat.

"Hey Ran Winkle, how do you feel?"

"Fine, I guess." Jack answered popping his neck. He looked over at Sam, who was scrunched up against the door. "Damn," he said leaning over the seat for a better look. "How does he do that?"

"Years of practice, plus he's a freak."

Jack chuckled. "So where are we?"

"Just crossed the Missouri / Kansas state line. We're about 30 miles out."

A confused Jack looked at Dean. "I thought we were going to see Missouri first?"

Dean smiled, "Oh don't worry about that! You'll see more of Missouri than you ever wanted to."

Jack looked around taking in the sights. He knew that his brothers were from Lawrence, Kansas but had never been here. Lying in his dorm room at night, he had tried to imagine what Dean and Sam's life had been like. He knew it was wrong – his mom had tried her best to give him a good life – but he couldn't help but feel a little envious of his brothers for the time they were able to spend with their dad.

As a child, Jack had imagined a fantastic life for his father, swooping in to save the day, helping widows and orphans. As he grew older, he became a little more cynical, wondering why his father had never wanted to meet him. He had asked his mother about it once but she had gotten a sad faraway look in her eye and hadn't said anything. He suspected his mother was still in love with John Winchester.

While she had dated, and had had several serious relationships, she had never let herself take a final step into marriage. In a way, Jack felt bad for her but in a selfish way not so much. He had liked several of the men she dated but no one could rival the image he had built of his father.

He had wanted to ask Sam about John but had never had the chance. He was also a little afraid of alienating his brother. There was apparently some rocky history there and Jack didn't want to risk his relationship with his new found brothers. Jack had been alone so long. The sudden appearance of his brothers in his life, no matter how shocking, was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Although he had lived twenty years as a single child, he couldn't imagine his life now without them – especially Sam.

Dean pulled up in front of a light green two-story house, reaching over to shake Sam. Sam jerked awake, quickly wiping his mouth in case of drool and looked out the window. Both brothers stared at the house as the third brother looked from Dean to Sam to the house and back.

After a minute, Dean said, "We good?"

Sam took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Opening them again, he said, "As far as I can tell."

Jack had a sneaking suspicion and had to ask. "This is where it all started isn't it? This is where your mom died."

"Yeah," Sam answered looking away from the house as Dean gunned the motor. Ten minutes later they pulled up in white bungalow in an older neighborhood with a rotund black lady sitting on the porch. Coming to a stop, Sam and Dean smiled at each other and climbed out of the car. "_What the hell?"_ Jack thought, slowly following them.

The black lady came down the steps to meet the two brothers, hugging them both at once. "Sam and Dean Winchester!" She said happily. Pushing both boys back out of her embrace she said, "Well stand there a minute and let me get a look at you."

She turned to Sam first. Placing a hand on Sam's arm, she said, "Well, you look better than you have any right to given what you've been through. But don't you worry, we'll figure it all out."

Turning to Dean, she surprised everyone when she smacked him in the side of the head. "Ow!" Dean yelped.

"And you! What were you thinking, boy? You, more than anyone, should know better! If you ask me, you are entirely too much like your daddy!"

Afraid Missouri would continue, Sam moved in to intercept. Sam hadn't told Jack about the deal Dean had made – couldn't tell him yet. The guilt, anger and fear Sam felt threatened to overpower him everyday – the only thing keeping it at bay was Sam's absolute determination to get Dean out of it. Telling Jack about it, seeing his fear, would just make the possibility of losing Dean seem too . . . real.

Missouri swung her eyes back over to Sam and lowered her voice so only Dean and Sam could hear. "Don't you know I know how to keep a secret. Course, you can't keep it a secret forever . . ."

Moving past the boys towards Jack, he couldn't help but take a step back. "_She looks like a mother grizzly bear advancing on a threat to her cubs,_" Jack thought.

"And don't you know that I would protect these two like one!" Missouri said laughingly. "My, my, my! If you aren't the spitting image of John Winchester at twenty. You got his nose and mouth but your momma's eyes. You also got his stubborn streak – I can tell."

Jack had never met anyone who had known his father except his brothers and mom, neither of which like to talk about him. The fact that his woman seemed to know his father fairly well disconcerted and excited Jack. Maybe here was someone who can answer his questions.

Turning around, Missouri moved back towards the door. "Yes, yes, there will be plenty of time for twenty questions later," she said as she as she climbed the stairs. "But right now I need to go take out a roast. I know how you boys love to eat," she said as the screen door slammed behind her.

All three boys stood in the yard like they had been hit by a mini-tornado that had just disappeared.

"What the hell was that?" Jack said breathlessly.

Dean smiled again. "That was Missouri." He was enjoying Jack's reaction way too much.

Sam went back to Jack and nudged him towards the door. Quietly he said, "She's a psychic. She can read your mind so be careful what you think."

Jack stopped, eyes going wide. "You're shitting me?"

Dean's smile got bigger as he headed towards the house. "Yep, we could make a movie – instead of Three Men and a Baby it would be Three Freaks and a Stud."

Dean opened the door to let his brothers go in first. As Sam walked by, he smacked Dean in the head again. "Ow!" Dean yelped a second time. Standing on the porch by himself, he rubbed his head. "That hurts," he muttered to himself before following his brothers through the door.


	15. Chapter 15

Part two chapter 7

All three of the Winchester men leaned back in their chairs, completely stuffed and content. The meal had been a good one, filled with more chewing than conversation but it was a comfortable silence.

"So," Missouri said, pinning her eyes on Jack. "You got a transfusion from Sam and you got more than blood – you got some of his gifts as well, huh? Course, your mama must have had some of her own - a simple blood exchange can't account for the power I feel coming from you."

Jack looked from Sam to Dean and back to Sam again, completely nonplussed. "I uh"

"No need to be embarrassed boy. There are no secrets in this house – at least not from me."

Seeing that his brothers would be no help, Jack cleared his throat. "Well, yeah, I guess that's what happened. I mean I don't know. The real question is can you make it stop?"

Pushing back her plate, Missouri leaned her arms on the table. "Can't stop something that's inside you – a part of you. Sam will tell you that or would if he would admit it himself. All you can do is learn to control it and use it."

"Wait," Jack said looking at Sam. "I thought you had stopped having visions."

Sam grimaced but Missouri answered. "He wanted to stop having visions and if I guess right, he fought them off with everything in him but he still sees – especially when there is something he needs to know – like where his wayward brother is." Missouri looked at Sam knowingly.

Jack frowned. He wasn't sure he wanted this – even if it did make him more like Sam, which secretly thrilled him – he didn't want to be a freak.

"Nothing wrong with being different. I've been different my whole life. Sam's been different practically his whole life – it just began showing a little late. And Dean, well," Missouri looked at Dean with a frown, "Dean's different . . .in a different way, is all."

"Yeah, I'm pretty," Dean answered with a smirk hoping it would ease Jack's fears some.

"The main problem I'm seeing is that you can't control what you hear and it overcomes you and that can be inconvenient. Fortunately, that I can help you with. It just takes some concentration."

"What do I do?" Jack asked.

"Well, you start by coming in the living room with Sam and me while Dean cleans up the dishes."

"Hey!" Dean cried out at the injustice of it all.

"What you worried about pretty boy? Getting dishpan hands? Get to it!" Missouri said smiling as she led Sam and Jack into the living room.

"Okay, Jack you sit right over there and Sam you sit across from him. Now Jack, close your eyes and relax. Try not to think about anything."

"Yeah, right," Jack thought. His mind was whirling but he couldn't help but be curious so he closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

"Good, that's good. You're open-minded. Sam has always been afraid of his power because of the way it came to him. You just remember that it doesn't matter where it comes from. Only matters what you do with it. Okay, now you Sam. Jack has the strongest connection with you so I want you to close your eyes and think of something – a happy memory."

Sam frowned, thinking for a moment and closed his eyes as well. Dean quietly moved from the kitchen to the doorway to watch.

"Now, Jack. I want you to concentrate on Sam. No, no. I can already tell you're trying too hard. Don't throw your power at him. Draw his thoughts to yours. Let who Sam is . . . flow into your mind."

Jack took a deep breath and tried to do as Missouri instructed. At first there was nothing. Jack tried to relax again and this time he heard a buzz - but not in his ears. It was almost like a dentist drilling on his teeth after they were numb. He began to catch images and thoughts – Dean's, Missouri's, Sam's and instinctively his breathing picked up.

"Don't panic Jack. You're doing fine. Just try and think about Sam. Block the rest of us out and think about Sam." Missouri said comfortingly.

Jack mentally shook himself and tried to weed through the voices in his head. "_Sam. My big brother Sam._" Jack pictured Sam's face, his blue-green eyes, his floppy hair, his quirky half smile, his long gait. "_Sam who saved my life. Sam who knows how hard school is and who I can talk to about anything. Sam who came as soon as I needed help. Who will be there if I need him. Meeting Sam in the hospital, watching basketball, talking into the night. Sam at Christmas when he thought that Santa had gotten him a Barbie doll. Sam looking happy when Dean put that weird necklace on. Sam getting . . ."_

Jack's eyes jerked open as he tried to get up but stumbled back into the chair. Sam was immediately up, grasping his arm as Dean came a few steps into the room

"That wasn't mine!" Jack said almost breathless. "That wasn't my memory – that was yours!" Jack said looking at Sam and then swinging towards Dean, looking at him incredulously. "Dude, he got you a necklace at Christmas and you got him a Barbie?"

Dean swallowed. He was touched that that was the good memory Sam chose but uneasy that it had been shared with Jack in such an intimate way. Covering his discomfort, Dean smirked, "What are you kidding? He'd been nagging me for that Barbie for weeks!"

"Dean, hush up! Jack that was perfect! Now, do you remember how you focused on Sam?" Missouri said, proud at how fast Jack had picked up the gift.

Jack nodded.

"Okay, when you focused on Sam you automatically shut Dean and me out. We'll practice some more but that is the key. You can't go around hearing what's in everybody's head all the time. It's rude and eventually it'll drive you crazy. But the more we practice, the more you use your gift, the easier it will be to block everyone out."

"Let's try it again," Jack said excited.

"Nope, that's enough for one night. I'm not as spry as you three and I need my sleep. But we'll try again tomorrow morning. Sam, Dean, you boys have the bedroom with the twin beds. Jack you have the one next door." Missouri smiled as she started towards the stairway. "Now don't go making a racket and make me come back down here," she said sternly as she climbed the stairs. There was a moment of quiet and then a call down the stairs, "I expect that kitchen to be spotless in the morning Dean Winchester or there will be no breakfast!"

Dean turned and made a mocking face up the stairs.

"I heard that!" Missouri yelled again, making Dean move quickly into the kitchen. Sam and Jack smiled at each other and moved to help their brother with the dishes.

Jack's Timex read 5:30 a.m. He wasn't sure what woke him up. As he rolled out of the bed, he tried to remember where the bathroom was. Moving down the hall he glanced into his brothers' room where dawn was just beginning to shine through the window. He looked at Dean, face down in his pillow, hand holding his knife – at least that's what Sam had told him. Sam was . . . "_gone. What the hell?_"

Jack moved as quietly as he could down the hall, checking the bathroom as he went. When he saw no sign of Sam, he stood undecided. "_Should I wake Dean?_" Deciding to explore further before raising the alarm, Jack snuck down the stairs and noticed the front door standing partially open. Jack stepped quietly up to the screen door and looked at his brother.

Sam looked like a portrait of pure misery sitting on the front step of the house, face in hands, shoulders slumped forward, frame completely tense. Jack's concern was immediate as he slid out the door and sat down beside sibling. Sam didn't look up but mumbled, "Dude, you sounded like a herd of elephants coming out the door."

Jack smiled shamefaced. "No, I didn't. Just because you and Dean creep around like "only the shadow knows" doesn't mean I'm incredibly loud. It just means I'm normally quiet."

Sam harrumphed. "If you say so," he said as he ran his hands through his hair. Sam continued to stare out into the street, his mouth set in an angry line. Jack didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything, just sitting there, keeping his brother company.

As the minutes stretched on, Jack became aware of the buzz in his head. Trying to concentrate without attracting Sam's attention, Jack began to access scenes that he didn't understand. He saw friends of Sam's - a boy on the floor '_Andy_' his mind supplied him with deep wounds all over his body - dead. The girl '_Ava_' smiling evilly and calling on a demon. '_Jake_' with a knife trying to kill Sam. "_What the hell?"_

"Dude, get out of my head," Sam said quietly with steel in his voice.

Jack jerked, not realizing that he had been staring at Sam. "Sam . . ." Embarrassed color flushed Jack's face. "I'm . . .I'm sorry man. I didn't mean . . .it just happened."

Sam didn't say anything. He just sighed and Jack thought he had never heard a lonelier sound.

"How did you know," Jack asked as a small throb started behind his eyes.

"You're not the only one who feels it. I can tell . . ." Sam answered

Jack winced as a pain shot across his temples. "Oh wow. I didn't mean to hurt you. I . . ." Jack gasped as the pain in his head blossomed. Closing his eyes, he could hear Sam calling his name but couldn't concentrate as the memories, Sam's memories came tumbling through his head.

Jack was sure he had fallen into a nightmare. He felt the incredible relief as he caught sight of Dean running towards him, the white-hot pain racing though his back, the look of panic on Dean's face. The scene changed and the relief turned to gut-wrenching fear, Dean couldn't look him in the eyes. He asked the question not really wanting to know the answer. "Did you sell your soul for me?" The guilt in Dean's eyes. The answering pain and guilt shooting through Jack's soul. "How long do you get?" he heard himself – no, wait, Sam – it was Sam asking - and the answer that caused the pain in his heart and soul to become a physical thing, slicing though his body. "One year. I get one year."

Those six words were still circling in Jack's head when he heard Sam calling his name. Blinking his eyes, Jack realized he was lying curled on his side in the yard, Sam trying to hold onto his arms. As Sam's face swam into focus, Jack tried to speak but the heartache and the guilt and the blinding anger he felt caused his throat to close up.

Scrambling away from Sam, Jack found himself back up on the porch. Looking back to Sam, he could physically feel the waves of anguish and anger coming from his big brother. When Jack was finally able to form the words, his voice came out strangled and weak. "God, Sam, what did he do?" Unshed tears glistened in Sam's eyes, and Jack's anger spiraled out of control. "What the hell did he do?" Jack screamed.

When Sam could only shake his head, Jack turned and stormed into the house, never realizing that the door had slammed open of its own volition. He had never had his emotions take him over so completely and later, he would wonder if the anger was completely his alone.

Jack took the stairs two at a time and stalked into Dean's bedroom in time to see Dean button up his jeans.

"Jack, wait," Sam cried, coming down the hall. He could see Jack squaring off against Dean but just as Sam reached the door, it was slammed shut in his face. Sam tried the knob but it wouldn't turn. Pounding on the door, Sam yelled, "Jack, let me in. You don't understand. Damn it! Let me in!" There was no answer.

Dean's eyes widened as he saw Jack march into his room and the door slam without anyone touching it. He heard Sam calling but his sole attention was on the man in front of him. Dean had been in enough dangerous situations to know when the shit was about to hit the fan and Dean could see it already flying.

"What the fuck is wrong with . . ." Dean's words were cut off sharply as he went flying across the room into the wall. "What the hell . . ." Dean thought groggily as he was held in place by invisible hands.

Jack advanced on him, eyes wild with anger and grief. "What the hell did you do?"

Dean gasped as the pressure keeping him in place grew until it was hard to breathe. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about," he wheezed, struggling against the hold. Dean managed to whisper "Christo" before his airway was closed and was both relieved and frightened that it had no effect.

"Don't lie to me!" Jack yelled "You made a god damn deal, didn't you! Didn't you! How could you do that? How could you do that to Sam! Do have any idea how hurt he is? How scared? How could you do that?"

Dean's own anger flared up, allowing a struggling breath to enter his lungs. "_Who the hell does this kid think he is?" h_e thought. "You don't know what you're talking about. It's none of your fucking business!" He snarled, renewing his struggle.

"None of my business! He's my brother you sonovabitch! We need you here!" Jack yelled. Suddenly, Jack's head snapped back as Dean's memories flew into him. It happened so fast that Jack's head didn't even have time to hurt. Two scenes flickered to life in his mind. Sam ceasing to breathe as he held him, blood running over his hands. Sam, still, not moving, not breathing, laying on an old mattress. The devastation, the failure, the utter isolation washed over him and the pressure holding Dean in place was suddenly released. Dean fell to the floor as Jack staggered back, reeling with the raw emotions.

Dean looked up at Jack with pain-filled eyes. "He's my brother too. That's why I had to do it. I couldn't let him die. I couldn't. It's my job to look out for him." Jack took a step back, seeing Dean in an entirely new light. As the bedroom door swung open, Jack sank to his knees in front of Dean.

"God Sam," Jack whispered as he looked up at the middle Winchester heartbrokenly. "What are we going to do?"


	16. Chapter 16

Jack pled a headache that morning but the truth was he just wanted to be alone. He didn't want to talk about what he had seen, what he had felt. But he didn't want to talk about anything else either. His stomach pitched and rolled. Jack knew what his brothers did was dangerous but until he had experienced it through their minds, he had no idea what that really meant. _Sam had died and Dean was going to die_. His anger at Dean had dissipated leaving in its wake fear and guilt for having gone after Dean. Fear of losing his brothers, fear of what Dean had done, what it had cost and what Sam would do to save Dean.

Jack finally fell into a fitful sleep. Nightmares plagued him as he took turns experiencing the worst thing imaginable – first as Dean and then as Sam. As he tossed and turned, Sam died in his arms over and over again, Sam's blood on his hands. Dean died too, bursting into flames, being torn apart by dogs and a host of other ways Jack didn't even know how he knew. The feeling of utter loneliness evoked by the dreams left Jack whimpering in his sleep. That was how Sam found him.

Watching Jack from the door, Sam grimaced. He didn't know what Jack was dreaming but he could imagine and it wasn't good. The anger at his helplessness, at the consequences of dragging Jack into his life welled up inside him and Sam crossed the room in two long strides, shaking his little brother awake. Jack woke with a startled gasp, sitting straight up in the bed grasping Sam, eyes wide.

"Jack . . . Jack . . . it's a dream – just a dream. You're okay. I'm right here."

"Sam, you're . . ." Jack stopped himself before he said dead.

"Yeah, I'm right here. Listen. It's going on 4:00 p.m. What say you get your lazy ass out of bed and we go get something to eat? Missouri said that there was a fourth of July festival downtown followed by fireworks."

"I don't know," Jack said as he swung his legs out of the bed and ran his hands over his face. "I'm not very hungry."

"Oh, come on, Jackie Boy," Dean said smirking as he came through the door, smacking Jack on the shoulder. "Beer, corndogs and funnel cake make everything seem better."

Sam rolled his eyes at Jack and smiled, "Dean's food pyramid is actually a rectangle with grease, sugar and alcohol all taking up the same size space."

Knowing his brothers would nag him until he relented, Jack reached down and started pulling on his shoes, muttering "whatever."

Jack had to admit, he did feel better. He, Sam and Dean had spent the evening like hundreds of other families in Lawrence – eating junk food and watching fireworks. Jack laughed until his ribs ached at Dean's antics and Sam's dry commentary. When Dean took a gigantic bite out of the funnel cake, leaving powered sugar on his face from ear to ear and then tried to talk to the girls sitting behind them with his mouth full, Jack thought he would fall out.

As Jack watched his brothers, he couldn't help but envy Sam and Dean and their ease with each other. He wondered if they knew they walked in synchronicity. He shook his head at their ability to finish each other's sentences. They seemed to compliment each other perfectly and he wondered if he would ever feel that ease with either of them – would ever really belong.

As he continued to study Sam and Dean, he couldn't help but notice that way women anywhere between the ages of 15 and 35, watched his two brothers - some openly, some shyly - but all in appreciation. He didn't realize that the lustful scrutiny actually encompassed all three Winchester men.

After some good-natured arguing, they decided to watch the fireworks from Water Front Park, hiking a good half-mile through the nature preserve to gain the perfect perspective, high above the river. Drinking beer they had brought with them, Jack could almost pretend that this morning had simply been a bad dream – almost.

Reality came crashing back down on him on the walk back to the Impala. He was walking with Dean, only half listening to him expound on his favorite weapons and their various attributes when he noticed that Sam was lagging behind them. Noticing Jack looking for Sam, Dean (who automatically knew that Sam was approximately 30 feet behind him, slightly to the left) called out behind him, "Come on, Samantha. If you can't keep up with the big dogs then you should have stayed on the porch."

Hearing no snide comment back, Dean turned to look at Sam and immediately began moving back towards him, realizing Sam had stopped, holding his head in his hands.

"Sam?" Dean called worriedly and watched as Sam dropped to his knees with a strangled cry. "Sammy!"

Dean was on his knees next to Sam within seconds, Jack on Sam's other side.

"Dean? What's happening?" Jack asked, fear lacing his voice.

"He's having a vision, damn it," Dean said through clenched teeth, grasping Sam's arm to keep him from pitching over. "Get his other arm so he doesn't hurt himself."

"Should we . . ."

"No, we just have to ride it out."

Jack watched as Sam's eyes moved without seeing anything around him, frightened. Trying to hold Sam up, Jack felt the first pain move through his head.

"Oh God, not now . . ." Jack muttered, adjusting his grip on Sam's arm so he could rub his own head. Jack closed his eyes and tried to adjust his breathing as Missouri had taught him but the voices were coming too strong.

Dean watched as the color drained from Jack's face and he too grasped his head. "Oh Come On!" Dean muttered frustrated. Moving quickly, Dean switched his position so he could pull both Sam and Jack to him, both of them leaning back on each of Dean's shoulders while they rode out whatever they were seeing and hearing. "If someone sees us like this, I'm going to kill both of you," Dean whispered to his brothers. Looking up to the sky, Dean watched as the trees around them began to whip back and forth as though caught in a tornado. When the first limb crashed to the ground, Dean sent up a silent plea, "_Please let this be over soon."_

Sam didn't hear any of his brother's sarcastic comments. The last thing Sam heard was Dean calling him Samantha before the vision swept him away. What he saw terrified him like nothing since his dreams of Jessica. There was a woman up against a wall struggling, hair in her face, blood coming from her mouth, nose and stomach. The viewpoint switched and he saw a darkly handsome man dressed in red and black, grinning evilly, his hand stretched out – his eyes gleaming an impossible neon orange.

The viewpoint switched again and the woman was on the floor, covering her head as objects from around the room rained down on her – a chair, a coffee table, the bookcase. She tried to scramble away but was stopped when the TV slammed against her back, exploding into shards of glass that cut through her body. He saw the man stride over the woman, lifting her bloodied head by her hair, saying, "He is ours." The woman jerked her head away, turning to meet the demon's eyes and spitting him in the face. As the demon threw her against the wall, she crumpled to the floor. Looking up defiantly, Sam watched as Kate said, "He will never be yours. He is mine." The last image he saw was Kate in a pool of blood and a message left on the wall in red that read, "Welcome to the Family."

Jack wasn't sure what was happening. One second he was holding Sam up and the next, pain exploded behind his eyes. He heard Sam screaming in his head and simply could not block the one word Sam kept projecting, "NO! NO! NO!" Bringing both hands up to his ears instinctually trying to alleviate the pain the sound was causing, a second voice overrode Sam. This voice was riddled with pain and fear, screaming his name over and over. As Jack listened to his mother die a horrific death, his subconscious mind reacted the only way it knew how – by shutting Jack's mind down completely. Jack thankfully gave up and slumped into unconsciousness.

Dean held on to both his brothers tightly. Heaving a sigh of relief when the trees calmed suddenly, he heard Sam mutter his name, Dean pulled Sam's head back to look into his face. "Sammy, what did you see?"

Sam gulped as he tried to keep his stomach from heaving. "Kate," he answered brokenly. "A demon killing Kate . . ." Tears filled Sam's eyes and Dean pulled him back against him, enfolding both Sam and Jack for a minute. Taking a deep breath to keep his own rage and frustration at bay, he pulled Sam back again and said, "You're going to have to help me. Jack's out cold. We're going to have to carry him."

Sam sat in the back of the Impala, Jack's back leaned up against his chest while Dean drove back to Missouri's hell bent for leather. Dean could hear Sam whispering a constant litany to Jack, making Dean press on the accelerator harder. "You're okay. Jack, I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. You're gonna be okay."

"Sam check his breathing," Dean said as he exited off the interstate close to Missouri's neighborhood. "Is he breathing okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I just wish he would wake up . . ." Sam said worriedly.

"He will, just give him time," Dean assured Sam with a confidence he didn't really feel.

As if on command, Jack stirred, a low moan coming from his mouth.

"Jack?" Sam asked anxiously. "Hey, you okay?"

"Sam?" Jack replied confused. As the memories flooded him, Jack turned his head so he could look up at Sam. "Oh God, Sam, she's dead. That thing, that thing, he, he. . ." Jack couldn't finish as he broke down in quiet sobs, holding on to Sam's shirt like a lifeline.

Sam's breath hitched and Dean looked in the rearview mirror to see tears streaming down Sam's face. "Shhh! I got you. I got you," Sam said, his voice cracking as he gently rocked Jack back and forth the way Dean had rocked him as a child.

Dean reached up and angrily wiped the tears that had escaped from his eyes. Dean's guilt for not protecting his brothers from this new blow twisted in Dean's gut and the pain turned into something cold and hard. "_I'm going to kill that evil son of a bitch if it is the last thing I do,_" Dean swore to himself as he pulled up in front of Missouri's house. Sam looked up at his brother, a cold fury in his eyes, "You're damn right, we will," he answered Dean's thought.

Sam and Jack stayed in the car as Dean bounded up the front steps. Missouri opened the door before he could. "Is he . . .. "

"He's in the car with Sam. I'm just grabbing our stuff before we head back to Danville," Dean answered grimly, moving past Missouri and up the stairs.

"Dean? Dean, this is a world of trouble. This wasn't a random attack. That demon knew exactly who Kate was . . .who Kate's son was and it's not finished. I think this may be a trap . . ." Missouri said loudly up the stairs, knowing Dean's keen hearing would pick up her voice. "I don't know if going back there is the best move. I have a bad feeling about this."

"We all have a bad feel about this – I even have a bad feeling about this and the force is so not with me. We have no choice. Jack won't settle until he is there and Sam won't sleep until Jack settles. Plus, I guess we need to clean up anything . . .unusual . . .and we'll have to take care of . . .the body." Dean answered coming down the stairs, three gym bags and the laptop satchel on his back.

Missouri reached out and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I know I won't convince you that this isn't your fault somehow but you've got to remember to be smart about this. You have a tendency to allow your emotions to guide your actions when it comes to your brother . . .brothers. . . and you don't always consider the consequences. Whatever you three do, please promise you will think it through first."

Dean was in a hurry to get back to the car and get on the road but he paused to smile at Missouri. He had too few real friends and family not to acknowledge what she had said. "We will. I promise." Turning he headed out the door.

"And you call me when you get there,"

Dean simply waved, throwing the bags in the trunk before jumping in the Impala and roaring off through the night.

Danville, KY

The man stepped back to admire his handiwork. He contemplated putting an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence but then discarded the idea. Afterall, less is more.

"Oray," a voice called from the doorway.

The man turned and took in the woman in front of him. "Ruby, I should kill you where you stand," he said casually, as if discussing the weather.

Ruby looked at Oray. He had chosen a rugged, movie star type to inhabit, complete with Armani style. "But you won't," Ruby replied, walking through the distruction of the living room.

"No, I suppose not," Oray replied, wiping his bloody hands on the side of a chair. "You have somehow become a favorite of the boy prince – or at least you have gotten closer to him than any of us. It might annoy him to kill his favorite pet . . ." Oray said with a small, cold smile.

Ruby sighed. "This is not the way to Sam Winchester," Ruby said with a shake of her head. "This will only make him more angry, more determined to fight against us – not with us."

Oray took two long strides, grasped Ruby by the throat and slammed her up against the wall, holding her there. His eyes changed to a neon orange flame and the voice that came from him was barely human. "Every day more and more of us die. And for what? For believing in him. All we wanted was a release from hell, is that so much to ask after centuries of torment?"

Oray slammed Ruby down into the remains of a sofa table before pinning her against the wall once again. Bringing his face within in an inch of Ruby's, Oray's tongue moved across the blood that was running freely down her face. Placing his mouth next to her ear, he whispered, "Azazel said that the Winchester boy was the way. Unfortunately, we didn't know then what we know now. There are three brothers. I believe Azazel backed the wrong one. Where Azazel failed, I will succeed. No more of us will die at Lilith's hands," he snarled as he flung Ruby across the room, through the window and out into the yard.

He studied the handiwork on the wall once more before leaving. "Yes, little Jack, welcome to family. We will be having a reunion very soon and with a little help from Ruby, you will bring me what I need," he muttered to the wind. Eight hours away, Jack and Sam muttered in their sleep as a cold chill swept over them both.


	17. Chapter 17

Three Days Later

Jack finished the knot of his tie and looked in the mirror once more before heading down the stairs and out the front door. It had taken the police two days to finish gathering evidence before they allowed Jack to enter the house. It had taken the professional cleaners another half day before Jack could walk through the front door without having a panic attack.

Sam and Dean were waiting for Jack outside. Leaning up against the hood of the Impala, Dean tugged at his collar. "Man I hate wearing a suit. I feel like I should give someone a wine list . . ."

Sam threw a small smile at his brother without saying anything.

Dean sighed, cutting his brother a side glance. Pushing his sunglasses on, he said, "You know this isn't really my thing but at some point we are going to have to talk about it."

"Talk about what?" Sam answered checking his watch.

"You know what," Dean answered. "The fact that Jackie Boy went all Anakin Skywalker on my ass when he found out about the deal. The fact that something – not someone killed Suzanne and left a pretty obvious message that it was because Jack is a Winchester. The fact that this isn't even close to being over."

Sam began shaking his head even as Dean continued. "Sammy, I know you don't want to hear it but he threw my ass across the room without even touching me. I mean if he hadn't have mind melded with me, he might have . . ."

"NO!" Sam replied adamantly. "He would have never really hurt you. He was just hurt and confused and scared. He doesn't know his own strength. That's all."

"Yeah, well, I guess." Dean replied doubtfully. "Whatever he meant to do, the truth is that Jack can toss me or you or Mighty Joe Young around like a toy without breaking a sweat. Hell, the night Kate died, the kid starting bringing down the forest around us. I mean, that kind of power . . . that's scary shit."

"I have that kind of power," Sam said, his shoulder bunched, fury tinging his voice. "I'm the one who cursed him with that kind of power. I guess you think I'm scary too."

"Sammy, that's not what I meant. It's a matter of control. Besides, you can't toss people through the air by just thinking it."

"I might be able to . . .I moved that big china cabinet thing with my mind when I thought you were going to die. Who's to say what I could do if I wasn't so . . ."

"So what?"

"scared of slipping," Sam replied, the anger giving way to self doubt and fear.

"Sam, you are not going to slip. You've seen what can happen when the power starts to become more important than the people around you. You are a better person than that."

"Jack's not going to slip either," Sam said with determination. "He's just a kid, Dean. He didn't ask for any of this to happen. I don't think he really even knows what's happening. I have to believe that he's going to be okay. Because if he's not . . ."

"What?"

"then . . . who's to say I will be. I mean, if I lost both of you – either of you," Sam's voice trailed off, his eyes turning bleak.

"Sammy," Dean started.

Sam cleared his throat and shoved his sunglasses on his face. "Here he comes."

_I hate this,_ Jack thought, locking the door and heading down the front walk towards Sam and Dean, who were deep in conversation. For the first time in three days, Jack felt a smile tickle the edge of his mouth. Sam and Dean, both in cheap black suits and ties, white shirts, and sunglasses, were leaning against the Impala in identical poses, ankles crossed, arms crossed over their chests. As Jack neared, they both stood up as one.

Jack kept the smile from his face as he nodded first to Dean and then Sam. "Jake. Elwood. Y'all ready to head?" he asked as he opened the back door and slid into the car.

Sam and Dean had been to funerals – their line of work demanded it. However, this one was different. . . this was someone they knew – someone they cared about . . . and they didn't like it.

They had both unconsciously taken flanking positions behind Jack as the crowd at the funeral home moved towards him to offer their condolenses. Jack tried his best to be appreciative but he didn't really feel much of anything at all – just cold and numb. However, his brother's smothering protection wore thin after a couple of hours. "Guys, you've got to back off a little. People are beginning to wonder if you're secret service."

Dean muttered "sorry," while Sam just looked at Jack. "You sure?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I can do this . . . just don't go far, 'kay?" Jack answered looking into Sam's eyes.

"We'll be right over there," Sam answered, briefly squeezing Jack's shoulder before moving away.

"This sucks big time," Dean muttered as he slumped down on a chair towards the back. "It's not natural."

"What?" Sam asked looking at his brother as he sat down beside him.

"This. This isn't . . . it's just . . . I mean all these people . . . this would drive me crazy . . . all these people wanting to, you know, hug me and tell me stories and crap. All these strangers asking Jack if he's okay, if there is anything they can do. I mean, come on. His mom just died. Of course, there isn't anything they can do . . . what a stupid question."

Sam sighed. "They're just trying to be supportive. To let him know that they care. It's normal . . ."

"Yeah, well, another strike against normal. I wouldn't blame him if he threw the next old lady who hugs him across the room. I don't know how he's lasted this long."

"You must be Johnny Winchester's boys . . ." a deep voice commented from behind Sam and Dean.

Instantly on their feet, Sam and Dean swung around to address the owner of the voice, a forty-something year old man, short and stocky with a slightly receding hairline.

"I'm sorry, do we know you," Sam asked politely before Dean could throw out one of his trademark smart ass remarks.

"No, but I ran with your dad back in highschool," the man answered holding out his hand to shake. "Mike McKenzie."

"McKenzie," Sam answered taking the proffered hand. "So you're related to Jack?"

"His uncle. Katie was my sister."

"I didn't realize you went to highschool in Lawrence," Sam said, watching McKenzie shake Dean's hand.

"Oh yeah, our whole family is from there. Kate didn't tell you?" Mike asked.

"No, she didn't. You knew our dad?"

"Hell of a third baseman, your dad. Was surprised when he didn't go on to play college ball. Course, once he met Mary, he couldn't think of anything but settling down with her. Your mom was the prettiest girl in town."

"Did Kate know our mom too?" Dean asked suddenly.

"I don't think so," Mike answered thinking. "Katie's several years younger than us – the baby of the family. I think she was still in middle school when Johnny and I started hanging together. Listen, Katie told me about your dad passing on. I'm sorry as hell. He was a really good guy."

"Thank you," Sam answered while Dean's eyes shifted away.

"I should thank you. Without you coming to the rescue, we would have lost Jack. When Katie said you boys had struck up a friendship with Jack, well, I was surprised, even with the transplant and all. I never pressed Katie about, well anything really, but I knew that Dan wasn't Jack's father. I had my suspicions. I saw a photo but . . . anyway, it's good that y'all found each other. Family's important, but I guess you already know that . . ."

"Yes, sir," Sam answered, not sure what else to say.

"Good to meet you boys. You let me know if y'all ever need anything, you hear?"

"Yes sir, we will," Sam answered again as Mike moved away.

Both boys sat back down. After a minute of silence, Sam huffed and without looking at Dean, he said, "Okay that was weird, right? I mean, that was just . . . weird."

"Too weird for words, dude," was his brother's answer. Dean glanced at his watch, tugged on his tie and shook his head. "This sucks."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Ten

The sun had just started to set when Sam found Jack in the back yard, sitting on a stone bench. "Hey," he called softly so not to startle him.

"Hey," Jack mumbled back, head down. Sam sat down beside Jack and waited. He had observed that Dean had often done that; sat quietly beside him and allowed Sam to talk when he felt ready. Sam figured if that was what Dean had done for him, then it was probably the best approach. Unfortunately, Sam didn't have Dean's patience and after a few minutes, Sam felt compelled to say something, anything.

"Nice spot," Sam said, immediately rolling his eyes at himself. "_That was the best I could come up with?_" he thought.

"Yeah," Jack answered. "Mom called it her meditative garden. She liked to come out here when it was a full moon, light some candles and . . .you know, meditate."

Sam frowned and took in the area around him. There were four pillars standing four feet tall by three feet square, each placed in the north, south, east, and west positions. On each pillar was a symbol. As Sam went to take a closer look, he realized that each of the symbols was a rune signifying the four elements - fire, earth, water and air. He turned back to Jack. "Uh, Jack?"

"I just can't believe she's gone, you know?" Jack said brokenly before Sam could continue. "I can't get her voice out of my head. I close my eyes and I hear her screaming my name, over and over." Jack turned shining eyes to his brother. "Why couldn't I save her? Why would a demon want to hurt her? What was it after?" Jack's voice turned bitter and Sam bit his lip. The only answer he had was the answer Old Yellow Eyes had given him when he had asked the same question. "_Because she was in the way_," Sam thought, hoping Jack wouldn't read him.

Sam sat back down next to his little brother and noticed Jack held something in his lap. "What's that?"

"Uh," Jack wiped his eyes, "mom's journal. Uncle Mike found it in the house and gave it to me. Said mom had told him if anything ever happened . . ." Jack's voice broke. He cleared his throat and continued, "he was to give it to me immediately."

"Can I . . ."

"Yeah," Jack replied handing the book over to Sam. "I haven't even looked at it yet."

Sam studied the well-worn leather cover, marked with Celtic knots. As he flipped it open to a random page, his eyebrows shot up. Rapidly glancing at several pages, Sam's suspicions were confirmed.

"Uh Jack, I don't think that this is a journal."

"Huh?"

"I think this is technically referred to as a grimoire."

"A what?"

"Well, it's a book that . . .where . . . someone . . .records, uh, spells."

"Spells." Jack said shaking his head, not understanding.

"Spells, Incantations, you know, like this," Sam pointed to one of the pages. "This is a protection spell and this?" He pointed to another "is a divination spell, where the caster, which I guess was your mom, could tell the future."

"What are you saying?"

"Dude I think your mom was spell crafting."

"A witch. You think my mom was a witch?" Jack snatched the book back from Sam. "I can't believe you! You just see ghosts and goblins everywhere you look, don't you? You don't know anything about my mom!" Jack stood up, shooting Sam a hurt and angry look.

"Jack, wait," Sam said reaching out stop him.

"No, Sam. Just back off, man. Leave me alone." Jack stalked further into the yard, leaving Sam rubbing his head. "Good job, dumbass," Sam muttered to himself. Moving back towards the house, he flipped his phone open and pressed 1. Dean picked up almost immediately.

"Sammy, you okay?"

"Yeah, Dean, but I think you need to come home. "

Dean looked around at the crowded bar. "Dude, I just had my first drink poured." He said in a tired voice.

"Yeah, well, Jack just showed me a book that Kate told Mike to make sure he got if anything ever happened to her. And Dean, it looks like a grimoire."

"A what?" Dean asked, standing immediately and reaching for his billfold. "You've got to be kidding me." Dean threw a five down on the bar, downed his drink in two swallows and headed towards the door. "Where is it now?"

"Jack's got it," Sam answered, pacing in the living room. "Dean, you don't think Kate could have summoned the demon, do you? I mean, it didn't look that way in my vision but . . ."

Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket and headed towards the Impala, phone held between his ear and shoulder. "but, if she was a witch, then. . ."

Suddenly Sam heard a clatter as if the phone had been dropped on concrete. "Dean. Dean!" he yelled as he listened to the sounds of a scuffle, his brother swearing. Sam was already moving towards the front door when the sounds ceased as suddenly as they had started. Sam stopped, listening intently as he heard someone breathing. "Dean?"

A strange, deep voice came over the line, "So, my little musketeer, what do you think is the most important part? Is it all for one? Or one for all?" The voice on the end of the line laughed at its own joke as the phone went dead.

"Oh God," Sam whispered heading for the back door, already sick to his stomach. "Jack! Jack!" he called, moving out into the yard, scanning every corner for his brother. Sam's breath caught as he noticed something lying in the far corner. Moving towards it, Sam knelt down and picked up the grimoire lying in the grass, careful not to touch the smudges of sulfur on the cover. "Oh, God, no." he said as despair and panic warred in him. A cold rage came over Sam as he turned and headed back to the house. He didn't notice the trail of destruction to bushes and trees he left behind.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Eleven

Dean had never been hit by a Mack truck, but he imagined that this is what it must feel like. He slowly opened his eyes only to realize that it did him no good. He was in total darkness – the kind that is so black, it's almost blue. Careful not to move too quickly, Dean rolled his tongue around in his mouth, grimacing at the taste of dirt and blood.

Slowly he checked his pockets for a lighter only to remember letting a particularly pretty girl at the bar borrow it. In his haste to leave, he had forgotten to get it back. _Damn_.

Pushing himself up on his elbows carefully, Dean tried to discern where he was by touch and sound alone. The floor he was on was hard packed dirt. Stretching his arms out, ignoring the pain in his head, he felt a cinderblock wall to his left and nothing on his right. The darkness was so complete, Dean could feel himself becoming disoriented – or maybe it was the knock he had gotten on the head.

Holding his breath, he could barely make out the sound of another person breathing. Moving as quietly and carefully as he could, he slowly made his way towards the other person, hoping they were at least, human and at most, Sam. Blindly reaching out, his hand came in contact with a jean-clad leg. Dean cautiously worked his hand up the leg, hoping he wouldn't get another punch in the jaw.

"Sammy?" he asked, hoping against hope. But no, this guy was much smaller than Sam. "Damn." Dean muttered as he heard a small groan come from the body beside him. "Hey dude, wake up," he said.

"Dean? Is that you?" the voice laced with pain said.

"Jack? Hey it's me. You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. What happened? Where are we?"

"Both very good questions. If I had to guess from experience, and I have lots of experience in this kind of thing," Dean said as he pulled himself up to sit shoulder to shoulder with Jack against the wall, "I would say we have been kidnapped and we are in a basement of some sort. Do you remember anything?"

"Uh, just being in the back yard. I was getting ready to go in the house and then this really, really gross smell and then nothing." Jack said has he gingerly rubbed the lump on the back of his head.

"A smell? Did it smell like rotten eggs?"

"Yeah,"

"Sulfur. Damn it," Dean said as he pushed himself up to a standing position.

"Hey," Jack said grabbing his leg. "You think they got Sam too?" Jack said with an edge of alarm in his voice.

Dean squashed the anxiety that Jack's words brought and slowly started making his way around the room, feeling the walls with his hands, looking for a way out. "If they did, then he's not in here with us."

"How can you tell?"

"I would have heard him breathing."

"Oh yeah, well sure. Who wouldn't," Jack replied sarcastically.

"Hey, it's how I found you." Dean said, as he continued to work his way around the small room.

Jack shifted and a small groan erupted from his mouth as a wave of nausea turned his stomach.

"Dude, you sure you're okay?" came Dean's worried voice from the darkness.

"Yeah," Jack mumbled. "Just a little sick to my stomach . . ."

"How hard did you hit your head?" Dean asked, his voice moving closer.

"I don't know. It's in the back of my head but it's not bleeding or anything,"

Dean's foot bumped into Jack's leg and he felt his way down until he was beside Jack again. "You could have a concussion. Here, let me see . . ." Dean reached out, his hands finding Jack's shoulder first. Running his hands up Jack's neck, Dean couldn't help but feel the heat rolling off of Jack.

"Huh," Dean said gently probing the spot as Jack hissed in pain. "It doesn't feel that bad . . ." Dean turned so he as sitting shoulder to shoulder with Jack again. "But I think you have a fever."

Jack's breath hitched as a feeling of dread set in. "Oh shit." Frantically Jack began patting the pockets of his cargo pants. "Shit. Shit. SHIT!"

"What? What's wrong?" Dean asked, trying not to panic at Jack's reaction.

"My pills! I don't have my pills!"

"What pills?"

"My anti-rejection pills. I have to take them twice a day so my body doesn't reject Sam's liver."

"Okay, let's not freak out." Dean said thinking fast, speaking as much to himself as to Jack. Jack snorted at the comment as Dean continued. "When was the last time you took them?"

Jack thought. "I don't know. Shit, I didn't take them last night or this morning. How long do you think we've been here?"

"Damnit Jack. What were you thinking?"

"Oh sorry if the DEATH of my MOTHER threw me off my routine," Jack shot back.

"Yeah, okay, good point." Dean sighed and ran his hands over his face and through his hair. "If I had to guess, I'd say we've been here no more than a couple of hours." Dean climbed to his feet again. "We just need to find a way out of here and you'll be okay. We can take you to the hospital if we have to . . ."

Dean began moving again around the wall the opposite direction from the last time. This time his fingers brushed against a wooden door.

Just as he found the edge, the door abruptly swung open, flooding the room with bright light. Both Jack and Dean threw up their arms to lessen the pain in their eyes and as Dean squinted into the glow, an intimidatingly large shadow came towards him, followed by two others.

"The boss wants to see you," it said grabbing Dean by the arm. Dean quickly bent over and using the man's weight against him, threw the giant over his head. Dean turned to take on the other two but came to an abrupt halt as he took in Jack being held with a knife to his throat.

"I'd hate to have to cut up pretty boy here but . . ." one of the men holding Jack said. Dean looked at Jack's wide fearful eyes and his stomach dropped. The whites of Jack's eyes had taken on a decidedly yellow cast. Slowly he held up his hand in a surrendering gesture.

"Hey, no one needs to get hurt. Well, except that guy," Dean said looking down at the giant, who was slowly getting to his feet. Dean consciously plastered a smirk on his face. "I wanted to talk to the management anyway cause this room sucks and we ordered room service two hours ago and it still hasn't arrived." Dean said, hoping to draw their captors' attention away from his little brother.

Unfortunately, the knife at Jack's throat never wavered. The giant, back on his feet, pushed Dean towards the door with a smile, eyes completely black. "We'll see who gets served up now," it said gleefully.

When the lights began to flicker, Sam was in the living room, trying to reach Bobby by phone for the sixth time. Looking around, Sam muttered to the voicemail, "Bobby, it's me again. Give me a call." Sam shut the phone and picked up the shotgun. With the colt out of bullets, he really had no effective defense against a demon. The tattoo on his chest afforded some protection from possession but he could still be physically hurt. He had the beginnings of a devil's trap on the living room floor but had not finished it. Kneeling down, marker in one hand and shotgun in the other, he began to draw as quickly as possible. Luckily he was still on his knees when the vision hit.

As the pain blossomed in Sam's head, he could clearly see his brothers – Dean was unconscious, lying in a heap on a stone floor. Blood streamed from a dozen places on Dean's body, including his mouth and ears. Jack, his eyes yellowed with sickness and cheeks hot with fever had thrown his body over Dean's in an effort to protect him from whatever was doling out the punishment. And as quickly as it had come, the vision was over.

"Sam?" The voice was so quiet behind him, he almost didn't hear it for the pounding in his head. Sam whirled bringing the shotgun up to bear before his mind registered that he recognized the voice. Once he realized, he allowed himself a groan as the pain in this head throbbed.

"Ruby." Sam acknowledged without lowering the shotgun. It wouldn't kill her but it would hurt like hell. "Strange you would show up the night my brother would disappear," he ground out trying to rub his head and keep the gun steady at the same time.

"Don't you mean brothers?" Ruby smirked as she slowly lowered herself into a chair in the kitchen.

Sam refused to answer, though his eyes had widened briefly. He and Dean had not told anyone in the hunting community about Jack. They had thought the less people who knew about their brother the better. After all, sometimes hunters got information by torturing demons – sometimes it was the other way around.

"What do you know," Sam demanded, climbing to his feet, shotgun still leveled at Ruby's head as rage made his voice shake.

"You don't need that," she said, wearily. "I came to help."

Sam snorted. While Ruby had helped him in the past, had in fact saved both his and Dean's life, he still didn't trust her. "So, help. Tell me where Dean is."

"Both Dean and Jack are being held by a demon named Oray. He was Azazel's second in command. Now, he leads Azazel's army, such as it is . . .."

"I thought I was supposed to lead this great demon army." Sam said bitterly, sitting down across the table from Ruby, lowering the gun a bit.

"You were. You declined. Dean killed Azazel and his followers have been dying since."

"Wow, that's gonna keep me up at night . . ." Sam said sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, if you take a minute and think about it, it should. With Azazel gone, Lillith's power has grown, as have her ranks. We both know how she feels about you. That feeling extends to anyone who was willing to follow you. Oray's army is being systematically exterminated and he is willing to do anything to stop that . . ."

"So a bunch of demons are killing another bunch of demons. What does this have to do with Dean?" Sam asked as he got up and started pacing.

"It has nothing to do with Dean," Ruby answered. Sam stopped and turned towards Ruby as she said, "but it has everything to do with Jack."

"I don't understand . . ."

"That's because you never really understood the whole of Azazel's plan. You were supposed to live, not that soldier boy. You were supposed to open the gate and then, you were supposed to join with Azazel. The combination of your powers would have made you incredibly powerful."

"Join with him? You mean be possessed by him."

"No, this would have been more than a possession. This would be a true joining of your soul and his soul, which would create something totally new."

Sam slumped forward, pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling faintly sick to his stomach. "But Azazel's dead. . . ."

Ruby leaned back and sighed. "The plan hasn't been abandoned – the players have just changed."

"So, now that Jack has my abilities, Oray's going to try this joining with Jack . . . and Dean . . ."

"Dean will be the leverage Oray will use to get to Jack. Jack has to willingly accept Oray. This kind of joining can't be forced."

Sam swallowed in the hopes of allaying the nausia he was feeling as his vision came back in vivid detail. Fear caused his hand to tremble slightly before he made an effort to still it. Almost instantly, the fear was replaced by a consuming anger so complete, his entire body hummed with it. "So, Oray will kill Dean if Jack doesn't allow him in?"

"Yep. The question becomes, will your younger brother sacrifice his soul for your older brother?"

Sam honestly didn't know and didn't care. Either way, Sam was going to lose a brother and that was something he was not willing to accept. Standing up to call Bobby one more time, Sam stumbled as a blinding pain brought him to his knees, an involuntary scream coming from his lips. It that moment, Sam heard Jack's voice as clearly as he would have if he had been sitting next to him. The desperation, pain, and hopelessness evident in Jack's voice took Sam's breath away. "What am I supposed to do?" and then all feeling of his brother was gone.


	20. Chapter 20

Jack and Dean were roughly shoved along a narrow corridor towards an open room. Dean was thrown to his knees in the middle of the room, barely having time to catch Jack as he was flung down beside him. Dean took in Jack's glassy eyes and chills and figured he didn't have a lot of time before the damage from the rejection was irrevocable. Dean stood up, hauling Jack up with him.

"Dean?" Jack said a little desperately, holding onto Dean's arm and struggling to get to his feet.

"I got you. You're gonna be okay . . ."

"Well, that all depends on your idea of okay . . ." a deep voice said menacingly from the shadows.

Dean turned and instinctively stepped in front of Jack. "So you are the host I have to thank for our accommodations," Dean said as he took in the demon – possessed man – in front of him. While he stood a couple of inches shorter than Sam, he was strongly built with dark good looks and an expensive suit. If George Clooney had a younger brother, this was him.

"I am Oray. Welcome Dean and Jack Winchester."

"The name's McKenzie . . ." Jack said weakly but defiantly, which was good as Dean's ability to dole out smart ass remarks in the most daunting of circumstances was temporarily stolen away as he realized who he was dealing with. Oray was a well-known upper level demon – not as powerful as Azazel but close.

The demon's hands twirled in the air, "All semantics. Whatever you want to be called, you ARE a Winchester, that is the important part." He moved closer to Jack even as Dean moved to stand between the two. Speaking as though Dean weren't there, the demon continued, "Even more significant, you are a Winchester with Azazel's blood running through your veins." Oray closed his eyes as his face took on a rapturous look. "I can hear it . . . I can smell it."

Dean felt control of the situation slipping from his grasp and tried once again to draw the demon's attention away from his little brother. "Yeah, well, if you know he is a Winchester then you know that as cute as you are, he doesn't swing that way . . ."

Oray flipped his wrist and Dean was sent flying back against the stone wall with tremendous force. Oray's eyes never left Jack even as Jack screamed out his brother's name and moved to help Dean up.

"So, you are now the heir apparent – as am I," said Oray watching Jack, a small smile playing around its mouth.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Jack panted, the fever and pain of the rejection sucking the energy from him as he held his brother up until Dean could stand on his own.

Oray slowly stepped toward the brothers, his voice taking on the fervor of a religious convert. "Your older brother Samuel has given you his abilities, his power, bestowed on him by Azazel. I also am a recipient of the blood and powers of Azazel. Samuel has turned away from his destiny, which in hindsight, is probably for the best. You, however, you will be the vessel for a new being – a god. Together we will be more powerful than any enemy – human or demon. We will do great things together . . ."

"Yeah, okay, nobody is going to be anyone's vessel – I mean – Yuuuuuh," Dean said making an exaggerated disgusted face and shivering. "He's my little brother, dude – gross."

Again, Oray moved his hand and Dean was thrown across the room, hitting the wall with a crack and a sickening thud. Dean slumped to the floor unconscious as two other demons moved in, kicking Dean in the head and back. Jack started towards Dean again but was blocked by Oray's massive arm. Jack turned to look at Oray, breath stopping as Oray's eyes turned to orange flames.

"We WILL be one. You WILL accept me . . .or you will watch your brother die."

"NO!" Jack shouted with all his strength, throwing Oray back with his mind. Jack turned, fury in his voice, "Get away from him!" and both demons were torn off their feet, sent twenty feet in the air by Jack's power. Jack stumbled across the room, dropping to his knees in front of Dean in an effort to protect him. The demons that had attacked Dean were already on their feet and moving back in when Oray's voice thundered, "STOP!"

The two demons halted their advance immediately as Oray stood over a badly hurting Jack and unconscious Dean. "Impressive. However, you cannot kill me. You will fulfill your destiny or you and your brother will die. I will let you think on it and we will talk again."

Oray turned his back, dismissing the two brothers. The other two demons hauled Dean and Jack back up, roughly moving them back down the hall and threw them back into their holding room. Jack groaned as he pulled himself onto his knees, crawling across the floor to Dean's side. Not having the strength to pull Dean with him to the wall, Jack laid down beside his brother for a minute. Reaching over, Jack put his fingers against Dean's throat, feeling a weak, intermittent pulse. The intensity of his fear surprised Jack – fear of losing his eldest brother.

Quietly, Jack said, "Don't die on me, man. Sam will kill us both if you do." Jack's hand moved from his brother's neck to his forearm. Jack's hand tightened briefly. "Come on Dean, wake up. You're the big badass demon hunter, man. I don't know what to do. I don't know what Sam would do." Jack's eyes fluttered closed, and he whispered, "Sam, what am I supposed to do . . ." as his consciousness gave up the fight and the darkness took him away.

Oray purposely kept his back to the subordinate demons as they returned. "Well?" he asked.

"They both seem more than half dead already. I would be surprised if they last twenty-four hours," the demon replied.

"Good!" Oray turned and smiled broadly. "Perfect. Now . . .we wait."

Sam was on the phone with Bobby when the next vision hit.

"So, the electrical storms are all centered around an area about three hours southeast of Danville, smack dap in the middle of the Cumberland Gap National Forest. The closest town is called Hutch – it's on state route 217. I think I can get a flight into Knoxville and head north but I'll still be a couple of hours behind you. . . . Sam? Sam!"

Sam couldn't hear Bobby calling his name. Sam couldn't do anything but hold on to the table to keep him from toppling to the ground. The moment Bobby had said Cumberland Gap, Sam's mind conjured up a picture of a cabin, half stone, half log. While he didn't actually see his brothers this time, he did see a town sign and it was Hutch, confirming what Bobby had told him. Heart pounding, stomach rolling, Sam managed to grind out, "I'll be there," and hung up the phone.

For a long moment Sam simply breathed, head down on the table, trying desperately to control the nausea. When he could finally move without falling, he pulled out his laptop, calling up a map of Hutch and driving directions. "It may be three hours as the crow flies but with those roads at night, I'll be lucky to make it by five."

Sam headed to the driveway, throwing his duffel in the back and climbing into the Impala. Pulling out into the night, he tried not to think of the frequency of his visions and what that could mean. He didn't want to remember the last time the visions were like this – when Max Miller almost killed Dean. It took all his concentration to push the thoughts and the rage from his head – and he almost succeeded.

It actually took six hours between the twisting mountain roads and the rock slide he encountered which forced him to find another way around. The sun had just come up over the mountain range as Sam pulled into the tiny town of Hutch. If he had not been so distracted, he might have appreciated the beauty of the landscape. As it was, the closer he got to Hutch, the more desperate he felt.

Sam pulled up to a combination gas station, bait shop and bbq joint. Pulling his long legs from the Impala, he took a moment to stretch before heading into the store.

"Hi. Can I help you?" a friendly voice greeted him.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a cabin that belongs to a friend of mine," Sam said, affecting his best country boy persona. "It's stone and wood – out in the forestry."

"Wellll, you're gonna hafta do better than that – you described half the cabins out there."

Sam thought back to his vision, scrounging for any details that came to mind. "This one has a well out front. There was also this weird looking arch over the driveway."

"Ahhh, the old McWherter place. So someone finally bought that old place. Must say I'm surprised."

"Why's that?"

"Well, don't go tellin' your friend – don't want to spook him but that property has a long history of violence. Murder, Suicide. Bad vibe that place."

"Huh. Can you tell me how to get there?"

"Sure. Head straight out of town, take the second road to the left and go about 9 or 10 miles. Be careful though, the road turns to gravel after the first five miles."

"I appreciate it," Sam replied paying for a water and granola bar, moving quickly to the door.

"Sure thing. Tell your friend to come down and introduce himself. Be glad to meet him."

"I will. Thanks again"

Sam glanced at his watch and took a moment to call Bobby, leaving directions to the cabin on his voicemail. Bobby should be landing in Knoxville any minute and he would want to head this way pretty quick, Sam thought as he headed back towards the Impala. Looking up, he stopped when he saw who was sitting in the passenger side seat.

Striding to the passenger side door, Sam jerked it open. "Get Out!" he said through clenched teeth.

"Come on, Sam," Ruby said batting her eyes. "Don't be like that."

Sam said nothing but continued to hold the door open.

Ruby huffed, her mouth moving into a pout. "You have no idea what you are getting yourself into. Oray is not some lackey. He is an upper level demon and is bound to have henchmen hanging about. You don't have the Colt. I'm willing to bet you don't really even have a plan. If you want to get out alive, you're going to need my help."

"Your help is the last thing I need," Sam replied angrily.

"Sam, don't let your pride get you and Dean and Jack killed. Let me help."

Ruby had said the magic words. While Sam was willing to risk his own life, he was not willing to further endanger Dean or Jack. Sam huffed and slammed the door closed with much more force than necessary. Long steps took him around the car, where he got in silently. Sitting for a second, looking straight ahead, he ground out, "You can come. But if either Dean or Jack die, you do too." Without another word, Sam tore out of the parking lot and headed out of town.


	21. Chapter 21

Something wasn't right. Sam could feel it in his gut. They had parked the Impala at the end of the gravel road and had taken off on foot up the winding AV trail. Coming to a clearing, he squatted down in the brush and eyed the cabin again. He was sure it was the right one but he could see no movement. In fact, it looked as if it had been abandoned for years.

"How do you want to do this?" Ruby said quietly from behind Sam.

"You go in through the front, causing a distraction and I'll sneak in through the back." Sam answered.

"In other words I become a target." Ruby said with a sigh.

"You were the one that wanted to help . . ." Sam smirked. Checking to make sure that he had his holy water and shot gun, Sam silently disappeared into the brush.

Ruby counted to 100 before heading straight for the front door, hoping that her association with Sam would again keep Oray from killing her outright. Coming up on the porch, Ruby paused, bent down and peered in through the window. Not seeing anyone, Ruby stood up and came in through the door like she owned the place. What greeted her took her by complete surprise.

There was no one there. Looking quickly around to make sure she was alone, Ruby moved through the main room and then towards the back room, which was a kitchen. Still seeing nothing of interest, Ruby opened the back door, looking out into the night. Catching sight of Sam, she nodded to him that the coast was clear.

"Where is everybody?" Sam whispered closing the door softly. Ruby shrugged and turned back towards the main room.

When she looked around again, her eyes fell on a door in the corner. She had originally thought it was a closet but now she could feel a slight breeze moving across her ankles. Tilting her head towards the door, Sam nodded and the two moved to either side. Ruby took her knife out, opened the door and descended into the dark, Sam right behind.

The two came to a stop as the room became pitch black. Pulling a lighter from his pocket, Sam quickly illuminated the large empty room. Catching sight of an old oil lamp, Sam touched the lighter to the wick and quickly swung it around to get a better look. The room was completely featureless except for a long narrow tunnel leading deeper into the earth.

Moving hurriedly, Sam followed the tunnel which ended with a large wooden door, bolted closed. Sam handed the lantern to Ruby and unlatched the door, swinging it open.

"Dean? Jack?" As the light from the lantern flooded the room, Sam could see the two bodies of his brothers, side by side, not moving.

"NO!" He yelled hoarsely moving to their side. "Dean! DEAN!"

"Sammy?" Dean's voice came out wet, a gurgling sound coming from his chest and blood spurting from his mouth as he tried to talk.

"Dean! Don't man. Don't talk. I'm getting you out of here." Sam said looking around for something he could use as a travois.

Dean immediately began moving his head from side to side. "Sam . . . listen . . . me . . .Jack . . . reject . . .hospital."

Sam looked over to his younger brother, holding the lamp up so he could see. He had first assumed that the yellow cast to Jack's skin was cause by the lantern's dirty light but he could now see that Jack's skin had taken on the yellow hue it had first held when Jack had been in a coma, waiting on a liver transplant. Sam's heart skipped as he leaned over to feel Jack's pulse, which was weak and thready. Sam grimaced as he felt the heat coming off the younger man.

"Ruby! I need help." Sam stood and spun towards the demon.

"Sam. Listen. They aren't going to make it. The nearest hospital is 30 miles away. That's after the 3 mile hike to get to the car. Neither of them can walk. We can carry one maybe but . . ."

"NO! I will not choose between them! I can't . . ."

"Sam . . ." Dean's weak voice floated up. "She's . . .right . . .Jack . . . .needs you. . . .need him . . . I'm . . .short-timer . . .Save . . . him . . ."

"Dean, I can't leave you. I won't. I won't give up on you." Sam ran his hands through his brother's short hair, knowing his brother had faded into unconsciousness once again.

"Sam . . ." Ruby said quietly.

"NO! I will NOT leave either one of them behind. There has to be another way."

The answering quiet was deafening - and then Ruby sighed deeply.

"There is another way . . . but you're not going to like it. . . ."


	22. Chapter 22

"NO! I will NOT leave either one of them behind. There has to be another way."

The answering quiet was deafening - and then Ruby sighed deeply.

"There is a way but you're not going to like it. . . ."

"What?"

"I can possess one of them. It'll . . ."

"NO!"

"Okay then. What's your bright idea?" Ruby said sharply.

Sam's mind cast about wildly. There had to be another way. He wasn't about to let that bitch claw her way into one of his brothers. There had to be another way.

Ruby moved until she was looking Sam in the eyes, her hands on her hips. "Look . . . you think I like this idea? I don't. Not only does the idea of possessing a Winchester creep me out but I will also be leaving this host behind – and she'll die – which means that eventually I will be looking for a new home. . . again. I don't like it but I can't come up with anything else." Ruby's voice trailed off.

Sam ran his hands through his hair pausing to pull it as his frustration threatened to blow.

"Sam, there isn't much time to debate this . . ."

"Okay! Okay. Dean. Take Dean and then we'll . . ."

"No it has to be Jack."

"Why! Why Jack?"

"Cause of those cute little matching tattoos you two have. I can't get in to Dean."

Damn! She was right. They had purposely gotten the tattoos after Sam had been possessed to avoid that ever happening again. Sam didn't like it. Jack had no experience with anything like this. Sam knew Dean could fight any attempted take over by Ruby but Jack wouldn't have a clue how to fight it. However, Sam couldn't see another option.

"Okay. Do It." Ruby closed her eyes but before anything could happen, Sam grasped her arm hard. "But if you hurt him or you think for one minute you're staying one second longer than necessary, I will send you straight to hell. Do you understand?"

Ruby opened her eyes and nodded once before smiling mockingly. Slowly he eyes fluttered shut. As Sam stepped back, Ruby threw back her head, an inhuman roar coming from her as a black swirling mist erupted from her mouth. For a moment, the cloud seemed to just hover as the body that had been Ruby's vessel collapsed bonelessly to the floor. Sam bent down to check the girl's pulse and not finding one, stood with his arms crossed over his chest. "Do it already," he growled.

The black cloud shot straight for Jack's head, forcing its way down his throat. Jack's body jerked once and then again before sitting straight up, startling Sam.

"Jack? Ruby?" Sam asked kneeling down. He had actually never seen anyone become possessed and didn't know if it was immediate or not. His question was answered when Jack's eyes flashed black, a smile that looked nothing like his brother coming across his face.

Sam swallowed hard. "Come on," he said harshly. "Let's get out of here."

90 minutes later the Impala's wheels smoked as Sam slammed on the brakes in front of the local hospital emergency room. Throwing himself from the car, he dashed through the doors yelling, "Help! I need help!"

A young red headed nurse immediately met him, looking over him with concern.

"No, not me – my brothers – in the car."

The nurse hurried out of the emergency room with two interns and gurnies. Sam was glad that Ruby had left Jack's body a mile before hitting the hospital as he didn't know how she would have gotten out now that the doctors were hovering over him and Dean.

Sam followed both his brothers as they were hustled into the emergency room OR. Standing by the door so he could see into both rooms, he watched as the doctor first checked Jack's vitals then Dean's. As the doctors began ordering medicine for both, one of the monitors that had been placed on the men began to sound.

Sam watched in horror as the doctor yelled, "He's crashing!" BP 62 over 46 and dropping. Heart rate bottoming out." He had been here before – watched this before. As the doctors worked feverously over Dean to restart his heart, Sam felt a cold dizziness wash over him as he stumbled into the room. Dean was dying right in front of him and he couldn't do anything but watch. Tears streamed down Sam's face and never in his life had he ever felt so alone as he did at that moment. Suddenly there was one beep, and then another, and then Sam released the breath he didn't realize he had been holding since Dean had ceased to breath.

"We've got him back. Let's get him to the OR." Sam automatically moved to his brother's side but the nurse stopped him.

"Sir, sir, you can't go with them. We need help with your other brother."

Sam turned suddenly, guilt washing over him when he realized that he had completely forgotten about Jack for a minute.

"Sir, can you tell me anything about his medical history? Any allergies?"

"Uh, he had a liver transplant. Something called Wilson Disease."

"Alright, sir. That helps. Now, I need to you to go with this clerk, please, to fill out some paperwork while we help your brother. Okay?"

Sam nodded mutely.


	23. Chapter 23

Sam drank his sixth cup of bad coffee, checking his cell phone for the eighth time that hour. He still couldn't get a hold of Bobby although Bobby's plane should have landed over 12 hours ago.

Sam rubbed his eyes wearily. No one had come to update Sam on Dean's condition. He had heard from Jack's doctor about four hours ago and the news had not been good.

Jack had been in full blown rejection, having been off his medication for several days, according to the doctor. The liver had been damaged beyond repair and he had been placed on the donor list again. Sam offered his liver but the doctor's refused saying that it was unethical to take a transplant of the same organ from the same donor twice. Sam had tried to argue but the doctors were adamant, saying there was a good chance that Sam's liver hadn't sufficiently recovered from the first transplant to even be a viable donor. They would have to wait and pray.

Sam snorted. _Pray_, he thought. "_As if that had ever done a Winchester any good_." If there was even a God to pray to, which Sam was beginning to seriously doubt, then he had no interest in the Winchesters or their problems.

These were the dark thoughts whirling through Sam's mind as a grim faced doctor came into the room, looking around and then homing in on Sam.

"Mr. Conners?"

Sam nodded although he couldn't remember exactly what name he had used for the admission papers. "How's my brother?"

"He survived the surgery and is stable for the moment, which given the condition he was in, is very good news. He's suffered significant trauma to his head, back and abdomen, which we have done our best to repair. However, I have to be honest with you, the prognosis is not good and you should be prepared for the worse."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Sam asked, caught in the nightmarish deja-vu.

"He's just too weak at the moment to survive another surgery although we may have to alleviate the pressure building in his skull due to the swelling of his brain. I would prefer not to – but it may be unavoidable. Right now, all we can do is pray. Your brother's young and strong. . . ." the doctor trailed off.

It was just as well - Sam had stopped listening. Stumbling to his feet, Sam unconsciously moved towards the door and out into the parking lot.

"How many time?" Sam asked himself. "How many times can we beat back death?" Sam had done it once by taking Dean to a faith healer that resulted in the death of an innocent man. The second time his father had been sacrificed to save Dean. What was left? How could he do it a third time? And Jack . . . Sam clamped down on his thoughts.

Suddenly he understood - he knew exactly what he was – he was a death omen bringing destruction to everyone who had ever cared about him – anyone he loved. He was a human reaper.

Sam didn't realize that he had started running or that dark storm clouds had appeared out of clear blue skies. All he could do was keep moving, hoping to escape the realization that he was destined to lose – no, kill - everyone who had ever meant anything to him – that he would be alone – would always be alone and would die alone with no one to care and that there was nothing he could do to change his fate.

The dark sky opened up and sheets of rain and hail plummeted to the earth but Sam was oblivious. Consumed with the black anger that had rolled up through his stomach, Sam dropped to his knees and threw back his head, giving voice to his agony. At the same moment, a massive flash of lightening shot down striking a nearby wooden swing-set, which burst into flames. And from the flames, came a lone figure.

In spite of his pain, Sam noticed the dark figure approaching him slowly, arms wide in a non-threatening manner. The man dropped to one knee in front of Sam and Sam could barely hear him say, "My liege," over the sound of the storm.

Stumbling to his feet, Sam took several steps back and uttered a stunned "What?" The man continued to patiently kneel, not moving as the wind and rain buffeted them both.

"You called for aid? I have answered your call . . ." the man said gently raising his bright orange eyes to Sam.

"I didn't call for anyone," Sam answered warily, realizing he had left the hospital with no weapons of any sort.

"Oh. Then it is my mistake," the man answered standing gracefully and backing away. "Then if there is nothing I can help you with, I will be on my way . . ."

Sam stared in confusion and indecision as the man turned his back and began to move away.

"Wait," Sam called softly.

The figure stopped instantly, waiting.

Sam stood for a minute, weighing his options – which there were too few of. Taking a couple of steps forward, Sam asked softly, "Can you help me?"

The figure turned back to Sam, dropping once again to one knee. "I will do everything within my power to help you my liege."

"Why are you calling me that?"

"Because you are my prince, heir to the throne and I am honored to serve you."

"I'm not anybody's prince!" Sam answered angrily.

"As you wish," the man replied. "That does not change the fact that I would like the chance to help you, if you would let me."

Sam turned away from the inviting voice, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes, trying to think. Maybe there was something this demon could do. It wasn't that much different than letting Ruby help him from time to time. While he didn't trust him, that didn't mean he couldn't use the demon to his benefit.

Making the decision, Sam turned back to the demon, who was still on his knee. "I need to save my brothers. They're dying."

"Ah," the man said thoughtfully. "That is quite a problem." The demon paused, "but not an insurmountable one."

"What do you want?" Sam asked.

"Why, only to help. Unlike your God, I am not indifferent to your pain . . ."

Sam grimaced. "Uh-huh. I'm sure it's tearing you up inside. Now, what do you want in return? My soul?"

"I would not lower myself to barter my service for souls," the demon answered as if offended by the idea. "I am more than happy to do this for you."

"And you don't want anything in return . . ." Sam asked suspiciously.

"Of course not."

Everything Sam had ever read, had ever learned, stated that a deal made with a demon must have the terms clearly stated upfront. If the terms were not clearly stated, then the deal would not hold. As far as he could tell, the offer seemed legitimate. He was sure that down the line, the demon would want something from him but he would be under no obligation.

Sam also knew that all demons lied. However, at the moment, Sam was so relieved to have someone who seemed to be able to help. One thing the demon had said seemed to be true – Apparently God was indifferent to the pain of a Winchester.

"Okay, then do it," Sam answered.

"With pleasure, my liege." The demon turned away once more. However, he stopped as if in thought. Turning back to Sam, he said, "Of course, you know this is just a temporary solution. . . ."

"Temporary? What do you mean temporary?" Sam answered, his suspicion returning in full force.

"Temporary in the fact that in four weeks Dean will die and his soul will go to hell. There is nothing I can do to stop that," the demon said sympathetically. Sam stared at the demon for a moment. His eyes had changed to a warm blue that seemed to be filled with genuine regret. "Once that happens, it is only a matter of time before Lilith comes for Jack. You will not be able to protect him forever – especially now that your destiny has fallen to him. You just don't have the strength to defeat her."

Sam knew it was true – that this was just a band-aid on a mortal chest wound. Four weeks – there just wasn't enough time to save Dean from his deal AND protect Jack from the demon who had killed his mother and Lilith. However, at this moment Sam could only deal with what was in front of him.

"Just do what you can. I'll deal with the rest later."

"As you wish . . ." the demon closed his eyes and for a moment, Sam felt a wave of power emanate from the demon so great that his heart stuttered. Then it was over.

The demon turned and smiled at Sam. "It is done. However, you must hurry back. Lilith has found your brothers. She will not wait – she will attack now while they are weak."

Sam turned immediately and then stopped. "Wait! Can you help me against Lilith?"

The demon smiled. "I will do what I can – just call my name and I will come to you."

"Your name?"

"I am called Leraye."

Sam nodded and sprinted towards the hospital. Leraye, otherwise known as Oray, turned and smiled again, but this time the smile was one of satisfaction.


	24. Chapter 24

Sam entered the hospital at a dead run. Making his way to the intensive care unit, he hurriedly asked a nurse where he could find his brothers. After receiving directions, Sam slipped quietly into the stairwell across from his brother's rooms. Taking a deep breath, hoping he wasn't putting anyone's life in real danger, he pulled the fire alarm.

As the buzzer began to sound, Sam rushed into his brother's room. Gently he shook Dean awake.

"Dean? Come on man, you've got to wake up . . ."

"Sammy?" Dean opened his eyes groggily.

"We've got to get out of here now. Can you stand?"

Being trained to move in spite of weariness or pain, Dean immediately swung his legs over the side of his bed. Sam helped him into a set of scrubs, borrowed from the OR and together they began to head down the hall in search of their youngest brother.

The carefully controlled chaos of the fire evacuation covered their tracks as they ducked inside Jack's room. Since he was still a little weak, Dean stood guard by the door while Sam woke Jack. Sam was relieved to see that Jack's skin and eyes had returned to his natural color. After helping Jack into a second pair of scrubs, the three brothers headed down the stairs with the rest of the evacuting staff and patients.

As Sam came out of the stairwell, his eyes fell on a woman at the far end of the hall. Standing still in the midst of the chaos, the woman was looking staight at him with silver eyes. Purposely, she began to stride towards them.

"Lilith" Sam whispered.

"What? Where?" Dean said craning his neck.

"Come on!" Sam cried turning away from the woman and heading the opposite direction.

Sam didn't see Oray as he came around the corner to stand by the woman and smiled.

By the time the boys reached the exit door, the lights in the hall had begun to flicker and then explode. Panicked cries from the patients around Sam drowned out any chance of being heard by his brother. Taking hold of Jack, Sam looked around worriedly, shooting a look at Dean, telling him without words they needed to hurry. Helping Jack into the back seat, Dean waved off Sam's hand and climbed into the passenger side himself. Sam immediately pulled out of the lot, speeding off down the road out of town.

All three men were quiet for the first ten minutes. Finally, when the silence became too loud, Dean asked the question both he and Jack were thinking.

"What did you do?"

Sam glanced up in the rear view mirror before answering. "Lilith was coming. I had to get you guys out of there."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Dean said, the fury in his voice making Sam flinch. "I remember getting the shit kicked out of me and I know I looked like a beauty queen next to Jack. Yet somehow, here we are - all happy and whole without a bruise or scratch. What did you do?"

"Nothing! I swear!"

"Damn it Sammy don't you lie to me – not now – not about this!" Dean yelled.

"I'm not lying. I mean, yes, I had help but I didn't have to sell my soul or anything like that."

Jack stayed quiet in the back, allowing Dean to take the lead. He knew Sam was hiding something but he couldn't quite get a grasp on it. Everytime he tried, he was overcome by the very real fear Sam had of Lilith catching up to them.

"Uh-huh. So, what did you have to do? Kick a puppy? Buy Am-way products?"

"No . . . nothing. I mean it was a one time favor."

"A favor from . . ."

Sam cut his eyes at Dean quickly. "A demon."

"Ruby?"

"No," Sam answerd slowly. "Another demon . . ."

"Damn It Sam!" Dean's voice was cut off as Sam slammed on the brakes, swerving to miss the woman standing in the road. Running the Impala off into the woods, the car slowly came to a halt.

Taking a deep breath, Sam first checked Dean and then Jack, who both seemed unhurt. Sam glanced in the rear view mirror and what he saw stole his breath away. Behind them, trees were splintering apart like toothpicks.

"We have to go – now." Sam said as he jumped out of the car and pulled Jack out of the back door. Knowing Dean was right behind him, Sam pulled Jack along as quickly as he could but he knew there was no way to outrun the reign of destruction behind him.

Coming to a clearing, Sam did the only thing he could think of. Letting go of Jack's arm so Jack fell to his knees, Sam ran twenty-five paces ahead of his brothers. Looking back to where Dean had stopped to help Jack up, Sam mouthed the words "I'm sorry" and at the top of his voice yelled, "Leraye!"


	25. Chapter 25

If air could have a color, at that moment, it would have been red. Sam looked at wonder and more than a little fear as the world around him became frozen in a red whirlwind. An instant later, the demon appeared in front of Sam. Once again, taking a knee, the demon said, "What may I do for you, my liege?"

"Help us!" Sam said breathlessly. "You have to help us."

"I'm afraid I am not strong enough to defend you against Lilith. Look! She is already upon you."

Sam looked to where the demon had pointed and saw the same woman from the hospital not more than a quarter mile back. Around her the forest had frozen into a terrifying vision of destruction.

"What can I do?" Sam asked desperately, looking back to where his brothers stood, one holding the other up, both looking tremendously weak.

"There is only one way to save your brothers. You must accept me."

"Accept you . . . what do you mean accept you?"

"Together, we are strong enough to defeat Lilith once and for all. Once she is dead, your brother's contract will be null and void. He will not go to hell. Together we can protect your youngest brother from any threat."

Sam stumbled back as the horrible realization hit him. "Oray . . . you are Oray."

The demon smiled again. "That is one of the many names I go by, yes."

"No!" Sam said moving away from the demon.

"Think Sam before you close this door forever. Think! There is no escape for your brothers. Lilith will not let Dean or Jack leave this forest alive. Dean will go to hell today and be lost to you forever. Jack will die an agonizing death just so Lilith can enjoy your torment. And then, you will die. And Lilith will be free to overrun the world with her demon army. Is that what you really want?"

"Of course it isn't what I want!"

"I am offering you a way out – a way to save your family – a way to stop this conflict from killing more innocent people. Join with me. Together we will be strong enough to protect the ones you care about. We will be able to control the hordes of demons you release from the devil's gate. It is the lesser of two evils by far, don't you think?"

At that moment, Sam knew he was lost. He knew he couldn't let Lilith destroy Dean and Jack or anyone else – not if there was a chance he could save them. Slowly he walked back towards his brothers, frozen in the red cloud of debris. He smiled sadly as he drank in the sight of Dean one last time, standing in front of Jack, holding him up, in an effort to protect him. Taking a deep breath, Sam turned back to Oray and summoned up his best Dean impersonation.

"Okay. Let's do this."

Oray smiled triumphiantly. "You won't regret this," he said as he moved in front of Sam, placing both his hands on Sam's shoulders.

"Yes, I will." Sam replied. Taking another deep breath, Sam closed his eyes and pictured Dean. Dean's cocky smile and laughing hazel eyes. Dean's rightous expression when explaining why he continuously placed Sam's life above his own. Dean's fear of going to hell. The million different ways Dean had told him that Sam was the most important thing in his life. As a tear rolled down Sam's check, he whispered, "I accept you." Sam's world went white with pain – the last thing he remembered as Sam Winchester was the words whispered in his head, "No, you will know no regret – ever again."

Dean watched with horror as Sam mouthed the words, "I'm sorry." Stepping forward, the words "Sam! NO!" came out of Dean's mouth at the same time Sam called the demon forth. Instantaneously, the demon was before Sam with his hands on Sam's shoulders. Dean moved fast towards his little brother but a blast of pure white heat knocked him from his feet and back into Jack.

As soon as it happened it was over. Dean looked up to see Sam surrounded by an army of demons who had appeared out of nowhere. The demon that had held Sam by the shoulders had vanished.

Writhing on the ground, Sam cried out in agony and Jack screamed with him. Looking down at Jack, Dean's heart clenched as his youngest brother gripped his shirt. "It's Sam! It's Sam!" he cried.

Looking over at Sam again, Dean asked his youngest brother, "What? What's Sam?"

Jack was trying not to sob. "In my head. I hear him in my head." Looking up at Dean, Jack's eyes were filled with tears of anguish and fear. "He's screaming in my head!"

Taking Jack by the shoulders, trying to ignore Sam's cries of pain, Dean asked, "What's he saying?"

Jack's voice broke. " 'Kill me!' Over and over again, he's screaming 'kill me.'"

That was all Dean Winchester needed to know to spur him into reckless action. Taking off in a run, he suddenly slid to a halt as all sound from Sam, the demons and the forest itself completely ceased. Dean watched with trepidation as Sam slowly sat up, looking around. Taking one more step forward, Dean felt his legs give out as Sam turned, looking at him with glowing orange eyes, and smiled.


	26. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Author's Note:

This ends the Second Part of "The Blood That Binds Them" Trilogy. I will have the Prologue of the next part up tomorrow. It will be listed as a separate story entitled The Blood That Binds Them - Malevolent Meridian" I hope you like a strong, evil Sam as much as I do because here he comes!! **:-)**


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